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Baluchistan District Gazetteer Series

VOLUME III

SIBI DISTRICT

COMPILED BY

MAJOR A. McCONAGHEY, I. A

' ASSISTED BY

RAI SAHIB DIWAN JAMIAT RAI, E.A.C

or 5 Shillings

• • / O

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PREFACE.

This volume deals with the administered areas of the Sibi
District, including the Nasirdbdd, Sibi, Shdhrig and Kohlu
tahsils, as well as with the Marti and Bugti tracts, which
are mider the control of the Political Agent, Sibi, and of
which a separate description is given in Chapter V. The
same officer also exercises political control over the Domb-
kis and Kahdris, but as these tribes reside within the limits
of the Lahri Nidbat of Kachhi in Kaldt State territory,
their affairs are only briefly touched upon in this volume,
and a more detailed account will be found in the Gmetteer
of Kachhi^

The greater part of this work consists of original matter
collected and collated by Rai Sdhib Diwdn Jamiat Rai with
the help of the Gazetteer staff. The Rai Sdhib has also
personally served in the district, and his varied and intimate
knowledge of the country has been of the greatest assistance.

Much useful information has been derived from Dr.
Duke's Report on the Thai Chotidli and Harnai Districts
(1883), Mr. Bruce’s Report on the Marri and Bugti tribes
(1884), Mr. Dames’ Report on the Sibi District (1879),
Mr. Colvin’s Note on the Administration of the Nasirdbdd
Niabat (1898), the Settlement Reports of the Shdhrig and
Sibi tahsils written by Mr. E. G. Colvin, C.S.L, I.C.S.,
and Khdn Bahddur Mir Shams Shdh, and from the Baluchis-
tdn Census Report of 1901 compiled by Mr. Hughes-Buller,
LC.S. The articles on the Khost Colliery and the Petro-
eum borings near Khattan have been supplied by Mr. A.
Mort, Mining Manager, Khost Colliery in Baluchistdn. Much
of the material has also been reproduced with the necessary
local adaptations from Mr. Hughes-Builer’s Gazetteer of the
Quetta-Peshin District.

My thanks are due to Major Macdonald, the PoIiticaF
Agent, Sibi, who has passed and corrected the drafts, to
Diwdn Ganpat Rai, C.I.E., Extra Assistant Commissioner of
Sibi, for much useful information furnished in connection
with the Marri and Bugti tribes, and to the local officials
for the prompt manner in which they attended to the nume-
rous references made to them.

A. McCONAGHEY, Major.

2,nd December 1906.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SIBI DISTRICT,

CHAPTER I.— DESCRIPTIVE

Physical Aspects.—

Situation and dimensions

Origin of name

Boundaries

Configuration

Hill ranges

Central Brd,hui range ...
Subsidiary ranges

Zarghun

Khalifat

Sulaimdn range

Ranges in the Marri country

Bugti ranges

Rivers

The Ndri

Tributaries of the Ndri...
D4da river

Sangdn river

Talli (Chd,kar) river

Lahri river

Chattar river

Other streams

CONTENTS.

Physical .\speci:s— { continued).

Geolog'y
Botany
Fauna
Fishes
Climate
Seasons
Rainfall
Winds
Floods
Earthquakes
History. —

Early history
Brahman dynasty ... ...

The first Muhammadan invasion A.D. 711
Second Muhammadan invasion A. D. 978
A.D. 1004 •** ••• —

A.D. 1225 ... ... ... ,

A.D. 1250 ... ... ...

A.D. 1470 .. ... ... ...

Arghun dynasty A.D. 1511

A.D. 1519

A.D. 1543-4

A*D.

A.D. 1595

A.D. 1700 ...

1712 Kalhora dynasty of Sind

A.D. 1730 to 1731

1739 Nddir Shah

Durrdni dynasty A.D. 1747

- A.D. 1S39.

: A.D. 1841 ...

The Marris and Bugtis A.D. 1843

A.D. 1839 •••

Expedition ogainst the Bugtis, 1845 —
Bugti raids. —

A.D. 1846

A.D. 1862 ... ... .

Sir Robert Sandeman A.D. 1867

A.D. 1875-6

CONTENTS,

111

History — {continued).

The Kuchdli raid A.D. 1880
Formation of the District
■ A,D. 1878 ' . ... ■

Murder of Captain Showers
The Bozddr column
■ 1882 ..

1883.. .

1886

1887.. .

1890 .. .

List of Political Agents ...
Archasoiogy
Damb or Kuhna Kila
Old mud forts
Cairns in Kohlu ...
Armenian inscriptions ...

30
ib

32
ih
ib
ib
ib
ib

Population. >

Ethnographical history ... ... ...

Density ... ... ■ ... ...: ..f

Towns and villages

Growth of population ...

Migration... ... ... ... ..

Iraigration from India ... ... ...

Age statistics, vital statistics, infant mortality, and
inbrmities ... ... ... ... ...

Comparative number of sexes and civil condition...

Marriage customs

Marriage ceremonies ... ... ... ... ...

Baloch marriage customs ... ...

Marriage customs among the Afghans
Bride price ..

The Zarkdns
The Pannis
Saiads
Jats
Divorce

Penalties for adultery

The status of woman and rights lo property

37
ih

38
ib

40
ih

41
ib

44
ih

45
ib
ib

46
ib

CONTENTS.

Population — (continued).

Inheritanee
Language ... ...

Baluchi

Pashtu " ... : ^ ... v'

Jatki ... ... ...

Races, tribes and castes
Tribal constitution

Afghan tribe

The origin of the Baloch
Marris ... ... ...

Bugtis ...

Dombkis ... ... ...

Kaheris ... ..

Baloch tribes in the administere
Baloch

The Rind

Thejamali

Khosa

The Khilold-ni
The Umn'mis

The Goias

Other Baloch tribes
Character and disposition of th
Afghans ...

Kakars ... ...

Sanatia clan ,,,

Pannis or Panris

The Tarins

Spin Tan'n

Tor Tarfn ... ...

Zarkuns ...

Br^huis

Khetnins

Saiads

Tarans

Maudiidi Chisti

Ahmaounai Saiads

P6chi

Kddkin ...

Bukhfiri Saiads

Baloch

C4S

■ -iE

. A9''.

50,\

. 55
ih
ib
ib

57
ib

59
ib

60
ib

61
ib

66
68
ib
ib
ib
ib
69
ib
ib
ib

CONTENTS.

Population

■. Other Saiads
The Jats ;

Hindus '

• ■ Religion \ ...

Isldm '■ ■ . ... ;

Occupation
Social life ...

The custom of hdl
Custom of hospitality
Co-operation amongst the tribesmen
Food

Fruit and vegetables
' . Meals ' ■ ... .

Utensils ...

Dress
Hair

Dwellings ...

Disposal of the dead
Amusements and festivals

Shrines

Shrines in Shahrig
Mano Nika
Shrines in Kohlu...

Shrines in Sibi
Names and titles ...

Rules of honour ...

System of reprisals
Blood compensation

CHAPTER II.— ECONOxMIC.

Agriculture — ^

Soil ..

Rainfall and system of cultivation in relation

thereto

Irrigated and unirrigated areas in the District and

sources of irrigation

Population dependent on agriculture

Seasons of the year

Sowing and harvest times

Staple food grains

70
ih
■ jz
ih
ih
74

.75.

77
ih

79
ih
ih
ih
So
ih

81
ih

82
ih
ih
ih
ih

‘^■7

CONTENTS,

,^ORic\jLTi3RK’^{continued) .

■ .Wheat .■ ■ ■■ ' ■ '

Wheat in unirrigated land

Diseases

J^ice

. Maize - . ■

Oil seeds, sarshafdinA jamha

; Oram ■ ■' . . .. ' ;; ... ■.

Cotton ...

Indigo ...

Rotation and outturn of principal crops, etc.
Fruit and vegetable production ...

Pdlesdt ... ...

Extension of cultivation ...

Agricultural implements
Agricultural advances ... ... ...

Agricultural indebtedness
Domestic animals
Horses

Sibi Horse Fair

Cattle

Camels
Donkeys ...

Sheep and goats

Average value of each kind of animal
Pasture grounds and grazing ...

Cattle diseases

Canals

Ndri Gorge scheme ... ...

Sources*of irrigation

Streams ... ... ...

The Nd,ri stream

Flood irrigation

Springs

K arises

Depth of channels

Wells ...

Division of water...

Water mills

Hand mills

CONT£JVTS.

Rents, Wages and Prices—

Rents ^ ■

Produce rents, method of distribution of the
heap ... ...

... ...

Dry crop lands in the Nasirabd,d tahsfl
Sibi tahsil ... ... ...

Shd-hrig* tahsil ...

Kohlu tahsil
Cash rents

Wages . . ' ... ■

Shepherds, goat herds and cattle herds
Camel herds
Village servants ...

Sweepers ... ...

Labourers ...
diggers

Prices

Weights and Measures—

Measures of weight

Troy weights

Measures of grain
Miscellaneous measures
Linear measures
Superficial measures

Measure of time

Currency

Material condition of the people
Forests—

Area under forest

Juniper reserves

Jiiniper

Shisham and olive reserves
Mixed forests in the Sibi tahsil

Reserved trees

Minor products

Cumin seed

Hyssop

, Liquorice

Game rules

grain

119

120
ib
ih
ih
ih

121
ih

122
ih

124

126

127
ih

130
ih
ih

131

132

133

134

135

136

137

138
ih

L39

CONTENTS,

Fore sts — (contin ued).

Forest establishment
Arboriculture

Mines and Minerals —

Goal

Petroleum

Khattan

Other possible oil supplies near Spin tan

Gypsum ... ... ...

Limestone and building stone

Mitti

Earth salt ...

Arts and Manufactures —
General conditions
Baloch woollen weaving
Embroideries

Felts

Dwarf palm
Pottery

Leather work ...
Steam flour mills...
Potash

Commerce and Trade -

Character of trade

Nasirdb^d

Kohiu

Sibi ...

Classes engaged in trade

Means of Communication —
Sind-Pishm Railway
Description and early history

Roads

Sibl-Quetta Road

Harnai Road *

Kach-Ziarat Road
Marri and Bugti routes ...
Other routes
Transport

CONTENTS,

Means of CoimuKiCATion— {continued).

Camel contracts •

Telegraphic offices

Post offices

•Famine.— .

Scarcity and its causes

Periods of scarcity

Visitations of locusts ... .
Protection

CHAPTER HI. --ADMINISTRATIVE

Administrative divisions and staff

Control in tribal areas

Harris an 1 Bugtis

Dombkis

Kaheris

Judicial

Special laws ...

Administration of Civil and Criminal Justice

Civil Justice ...

Criminal Justice ...

Jirga cases

Local, joint, shdhi and interprovincial Jirgas

System of selection of members

Prevalent crime ...

Fanatical outrages

Registration ...

Finance

Historical

Land Revenue.—

Early Revenue History

Shdhrig tabs/l

Modern Revenue History
Sibi tahsH

Early Revenue Plistory
Modern Revenue History
Kohiu talisO ... ,

Early Revenue History
Modem Revenue History
Nasirdbad tahsii

CONTENTS.

1S9

190

191

192
ib
ih

193

194
^95

iu6

197

198
ih

199
ib

2£X3

201

203
ib
ib

204

205

206
ib

207

208
ib
ib

209

210
ib
ib

211

Land Revenue (continued ')- —

Early Revenue History

Modern Revenue History
Sale of revenue grain ...

The Batai system

Recapitulation ...

Settlements and their periods

Shdhrig settlement ...

Sibi Settlement

Review of existing assessments (1905)

Statistics of land revenue

Land tenures
Jagirs

Bdriizai jdgifs
Kurk jdgtr
Sdngdn jdqir

Quat-Mandai valley

The origin and the character of the tenants

Custom of periodical distribution

Tenants and tenancies

Size and holdings

Headman, malik or wadera ...

Remuneration of headmen

Incidence

Distribution
Date of payment

System of remissions and suspensions
Exemption from revenue of improvements

Waste lands

Restrictions against transfer of lands to non-agri
culturists

Government lands

Water mills ...

Grazing tax or timi

Revenue free grants in Shihrig

Saiad muifi in Miin Kach, Shahrig tahsi'i

Revenue free grants in Sibi

Revenue free grants in Kohiu

Grain allowances

Total value of the mudfis

Financial results

Record of rights and its maintenance

CONTENTS.

Miscellaneous .Revenue-

Salt ■ .... ... ,,, .. ■ ■

Khdr ... ...

Opium

Intoxicating drugs ... V.

Country spirits and rum
Distillation of country liquors ...

Foreign liquors ...

Methylated spirits

Consumers, consumption and aggregate revenue.
Stamps ... ... ... ... ...

Income-tax... ... ... ... ...

Local Funds ... ... ...

Sibi Municipal Fund ...

Sliahrig Bazar Fund ... ... ... ...

Ziarat Improvement Fund

Public Works*

Important works
Levy posts

Army

Levies, Police and Jails

Levies

Duties of levies ... ... .... ... ... ...

Police ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Total strength ... ... ... ...

Sibi Municipal and Shahng Bazar Fund Police ...

Railway Police

Chauhidars ...

System of recruitment and training

Measures taken to improve the status of the Police,

Arms ' ...■ ■■ ... '■ ... "

Cognizable crime... ...

Trackers

Prevention of crime on the Punjab border

Cattle pounds ••• •*

Jails

COArTEA^TS.

CHAPTER IV.— MINIATURE GAZETTEER.

SiBi Sub-division-

Sibi tahsll ...

General description

*'• 240

••• ... ib

Boundary of tahsil

S^ng^n valley

• ••• ih

Quat-Mandai

Pur valley

241

••• ... ih

... ih

Hill ranges

Drainage and rivers

Forests

Climate, temperature and rainfall

••• ... 242

History ...

Education-

Early methods

231

Growth of Schools

The Barnes School ...

Education of Europeans and Eurasians
Female education

Education of Muhammadans

— 232

//;

Village schools ..

Miscellaneous ...

libraries ...

233

Medical. —

The Sibi Civil Hospital

The Sibi Female Dispensary...

Other Dispensaries

r rincipal diseases and their causes...

Malaria

Smallpox and measles ..

Cholera ...

Typhus ...

Plague precautions

Vaccination and inoculation ...

Indigenous remedies
Working of the pice-packet sysiem of sale of quinine
Village sanitation and water-siipplv
Surveys

.'^35'

234

’/d

236

.238

239

CONTENTS,

SiBI SL:B-DIVISION~(6-6t///w/^t?£2'),

Population

Ag-riculiure

Com 111 unications

Administrative staff

Land Revenue ...

Sibi Town ■

Kohiu Tahsil

General description

Forests

Climate, temperature and rainfall
History

The Muranj settlement

Population

Agriculture

Communications

Administrative staff

Land Revenue

Shahrig tahsil

General description

Rivers

Forests

Climate, temperature and rainfall

History

Population

Shahrig town

Agriculture

Communications

Administrative staff

Land Revenue

Miscellaneous ....

Harnai

Kach or Kachh

Kowas

Khost

Spintangi ...

Ziarat

Nasjrabad sub-division and tahsil —
General description

F orests

Climate, temperature and rainfall

XIV

CONTENTS.

Nasirabad sub-division and ■ rAiiiiiL ~(^ cu „ ti , nied \
History
Population
Villages
Agriculture
Communications
Arfministration and staff
Land Revenue
Christian cemeteries

260

2 (>|

262
ih
il

263
ib

CHAPTER V.-MARRI.BUGTI COUNTRY

Physical Aspft

Physical Aspects-
Situation
Boundaries
Configuration
Hill ranges
Rivers

Water pools and hi mbs
Geology
Botany
Fauna

Climate, temperature and rainfall
Population. —

Villag'es and their character

Migration

xMarriage customs
Language ...

The Marri tribe
Early history

Location of the tribe and origi'Lf tlidr name
tormation of the clans ... ..

List of sarddrs and their history
The Bijardni and Alidni Sardars
Cha^ani Sarddrs. Sahtak, sth Sardar .
Lahawa an or Bahdwal Khdn, x,th Sardar
Doda Khan, 13th Sarddr (about 180,')

Constitution of the tribe

Hm Muhamad
^iJrMuhamad ...

Gazan

264
■ tb

265
ib

266
ib

. 267 ,
ih
ib

269

2 Jo
ib

272

273

27 s

CONTENTS.

PoPULA'noN — [continued).

Mehrulla Khan

Khair Bakhsh

General history

1840 A.D

1845 A.D. ... . .. ■ .. ... ■ ...

vSir Robert Sand email

Mithankot Conference 1871

Formation of Baluchistan Agency

Kuchdli raid

MacGregor’s expedition

The Buzdar column ...

Bugti raid of 1883

Kohlu valley

Modern events

The Marri-Luni case, 1895
Sunari raid, 1896 .. ... ...

Second outrage at Sunari, 1899 ...

Murderous outrage at Sibi, 1900
Relations of the Marri Chief with his wastr

Migration to Kabul ...

Levy service

Kalian

Bugtis

Historical ... . .

Bugti Sardars

Relations with the Marri tribe,

The Mazaris ...

The Drishaks

The Brahuis

The- Sikhs

Billamore’s expedition, 1839 A.D.

Napier’s campaign

Mirpur raid

Kunri raid

Defeat of the Bugtis at Purb

Battle of Chambri

Gliulam Murtaza, 1861 A.D. ...

The Harrand raid ...

Mithankot Conference, 1871

Expedition against the Zarkdns
Sir Shahbaz Khan ... ...

XVI

CONTENTS.

i^QP { ; L A I'l o N — {font in nod).

General
Levy service
Places of interest,,

Dera Bugti
Uch

Social life ...

Religion ...

Treatment of women
Hospitality

Food

Dress

Dwellings
Social precedence
Reprisals and commutations for murder
Baloch method of warfare
Shrines

Economic.--

Agriculture

Camels
Cattle

Sheep and goats

Pasture grounds and feeding cattle

Water-mills

Hand-mills

Rents, Wages and Prices.—

Rent

■ Wages ^ ...

Shepherds, goatherds and cattJeherds
Prices ...

Weights and Measures. —

Linear measures ...

.Superficial measures

Arts and manufactures

Commerce and Trade.—

Octroi and transit dues

Means of communication
i^amine

ACJ2

A()3

-"95

//;

296
id
id
id
id

297
id

298

301
id
id
id
id

302

//;

303
id

304

305

306

CONTENTS,

Administration.— , ,,

Tribal constitution.. ■

; V; Statistics ^

Fanatical outrages ... ... ...

Finance . ; ■ ... ' ' ' ... . '■ ... '.

Share of plunder ... ... ... ... ... ...

Division of land in the Marri country ... ...

Division of land among the Bugtis ...

General ... ... ... ... ... ...

Bibliography ... ... ... ...

Appendix!. Botany ... ... ...

Vegetation of the plains at Sibi

Botany of the Harnai valley ... ...

Botany of the Shahrig valley

Vegetation of the juniper tracts

Alphabetical list of common trees and plants in the
Sibi District

Appendix II. List of agricultural implements in use
in the Sibi District

Appendix III. Alphabetical list of agricultural
revenue and shepherd’s terms used in the Sibi
District ... ... ... ... ... ,. ...

Appendix IV. Rules framed by the intertribal
Jirga at Fort Munro in 1900 in connection with
the prevention of crime between Baluchistan and
the Baloch tribes on the Dera Ghazi Khan border.
Cattle lifting, prevention of

Appendix V. Agreement entered into by His
Highness the Khan of Kaldt and by the Hon’ble
the Agent to the Governor-General in
Baluchistan in connection with the management
and administration of the nidbat of Nasirdbdd ...

Appendix VI. The clans, main sections, localities
occupied and headmen of clans and sections of
the Marri and Bugii tribes together with the
genealogical table of the Chiefs ...

SIBI DISTRICT

CHAPTER I

DESCRIPTIVE.

''^HE District of Sibi is situated between north latitudes
^ 27“55' and 3o“38' and east longitudes 67^17^ and 69‘*50^

The total area is 11,281 square miles, but this includes the
Marri and Biigti country (7,129 square miles), which is only
under political control, leaving 4,152 square miles of directly
administered territory. The Dombki andKah^ri tribes of the
Lahri nidbat of the Kaldt State in Kachhi (1,282 square
miles) are also politically controlled from Sibi. The por-
tions under political control occupy the centre, east and south
of the District ; and the areas under direct administration
form protrusions in the north-western, north-eastern and
south-western corners.

The District derives its name from the town of Sibi, or
SiwI as it was written in earlier times, and local tradition
attributes the origin of the name to Siwi, a Hindu lady of
the S6wa race, who is said to have ruled over this part of the
country in former times.

The District is bounded on the north by the Loralai Dis-
trict ; on the south by the Upper Sind Frontier District; on
the east by the D6ra Ghdzi Khdn District of the Punjab and
on the west by Kachhi, the Boldn Pass and Quetta-Pishin.

The northern boundary has never been formally delimited,
but the following rough line is recognised for purposes of
administration. Starting from the western corner at Kach
Kotal, the first portion separates the Shdhrig tahsil from
Pishin, and runs in a north-easterly direction to Sdrghund
where it meets the Loralai boundary. It then turns in a
south-easterly direction to the Sialu peak, whence still pro-

Phvsical

Aspects.

Situation
and dimen
sions.

Origin of
name.

Boundariefc

CHAPTER I— DESCRIPTIVE.

Physical

Aspects.

ceeding in the same general direction it follows the water-
shed of the low range of hills separating the Thai plain from
the Marri country as far as the Han Pass ; it then turns
abruptly to the south-west forming the apex of an acute-
angled triangle, and follows the watershed of the Jandrdn
range as far as Bor, dividing Kohlu from Bdrkhdn ; at Bor
!t again turns sharply to the south-east, and subsequently
proceeding in a general easterly direction joins the Punjab
boundary at the Pikal peak to the south of Chacha Mat.

The southern ^boundary, which divides Nasirdbdd from the
Upper Sind Frontier District, was finally demarcated in 1886,
and forms a general line running west and east. Starting
from the L^ni tower, which forms the tri-junction of the
Sind, Punjab and Baluchistdn boundaries, it runs due west
for about 50 miles to Murdd Ali ; it then turns to the south-
west to a point about 2 miles south of Mamal, where there
IS a landmark erected by General John Jacob. From Mamal
it proceeds in a south-westerly direction to Khaira Garhi,
following the main road between that place and Rojhdn ;
from Khaira Garhi it continues in the same direction to Panj
Khabar where it meets the junction of the Sind-Kaldt bound-
ary. The total lengtlt is about 120 miles.

The eastern boundary separates the Marri and Bugti country
from the Ddra Ghdzi Khdn District of the Punjab. It has
been demarcated for its whole length by officers deputed
from time to time, by the Punjab and Baluchistdn Govern-
ments, and runs northwards from the tri-junction of the
Punjab, Sind and Baluchistdn boundaries near the Leni
tower, along the Sulaiman range, sometimes following the
watershed and sometimes the eastern base of the hills, as
far as the Pikal peak which forms the junction of the Sibi
Loralai and Ddra Ghdzi Khdn districts.

The southern portion of the western boundary divides
^asirdbdd and the Marri and Bugti country from Kachhi.
From Panj Khabar, it runs in a north-easterly direction to
Shdhpur, whence it proceeds almost due north until it strikes
the boundary of the Sibi tahsll, when it turns to the west
and crosses the Sind Pishin Railway at Pirak Pir Takri
Jout 7 miles south of Sibi (mile 444X from Kardchi). After
Sibi It runs in a north-westerly direction along the water-
shed of the Takri, hhabdn and Nodgwar hills to a point

CONFIGUI^A TION,

above Pir Ismdii, where it forms the boundary between the
Quetta-Pishlii District and proceeds in a northerly direction
to Kacli Kotal.

No area in Baluchistdn presents such strongly marked
variations, both physical and climatic, between its different
parts as the Sibi District. Two portions of it, the Sibi and
Naslrdbdd tahsils, which lie respectively at the apex and
base of Kachhi, consist chiefly of a level plain of alluvial
soil formed by the clay deposited by the Boldn, the Ndri
and other hill torrents. This part of the country, or as
it is locally termed, is extremely low as regards elevation,
no portion of it being much higher than 500 feet above sea
level, and its chief characteristics are its dead level surface,
excessive heat in summer and a scanty and uncertain rain-
fall.

The is described by Hughes'" as ‘‘a boundless, treeless,
level plain of indurated clay of a dull, dry, earthy colour,
and showing signs of being sometimes under water. The
soil is, in general, a hard baked clay, quite flat, probably de-
posited by the numerous torrents holding their transitory
but violent courses over the surface parched up in the
intensely hot summer season, where water is scarce, but
highly productive when a careful system of irrigation can be
brought to bear on it.”

The remainder of the District consists entirely of moun-
tainous country rising in a series of terraces from the lower
hills of the Sulaimdn range. These hills include Z 6 n (3,625
feet) in the Bugti country, and Bambor (4,890 feet) and
Dungdn (6,861 feet) with Butar (about 6,000 feet) in the
Marri country. North-westward the mountains stretch to
the watershed of the Central Brdhui range in Zarghdn
and Khalifat with an elevation of 11,440 feet. The lower
ranges of the Sulaimdn mountains which stretch to the
boundaries of Kachhi and Nasirdbdd with a general descent
to the plains consist of what are well described by Sir
Thomas Holdich as narrow, rugged, sunscorched tree-
less ridges, composed chiefly of recent clays and conglo-
merates, which preserve an approximate parallelism in their
strike, likening the whole system to a gigantic gridiron.

PeVSICAL

zlSFECTS.

CoDfigura--

tion.

Physical

Aspects.

Hill Ranges.
Central
Brihui
Range.

4 CHAPTER /-DESCRIPTIVE,

Narrow little ‘subsequent’ valleys between these sharp
banked ridges contribute an intermittent flew of brackish
water to the main arteries, and these again break transversely
across the general strike of the minor ridges ere they deb ouch
into the Indus plain. And if we transfer the general view of
a system of steep narrow parallel ridges, alternating with
equally constructed valleys, and give an altitude to the hills
such as will carry their peaks 8,000 feet above sea level ; clothe
them with a scanty vegetation of grass, wild olive, and
juniper; widen out certain intermediate valleys, and fill them
with occasional bunches of tamarisk jungle and coarse grass,
admitting narrow bands of cultivation boi'dering streams
that are occasionally perennial, we shall gain a fair general
conception of the Baluchistdn of the highlands lying west of
the Sulaiman and extending to the newly defined frontier of
Afghdnistdn.”

With the exception of the eastern side of the Marri and
Biigti countpv, the drainage of the whole of this area is
carried off by the Ndri, which in traversing the Marri country
is known as the Bdji. On the south it is joined by the three
considerable hill-torrents known as the Chdkar or Talli, the
Lahri, and the Chhatar rivers. All of these streams are
subject to high floods, which irrigate the fertile lands of
Kachhi.

This mountain range occupies the northern part of the
Jhalawdn and the whole of the Sarawdn country in the Kaldt
State and part of the administered areas of Baluchistdn, and
forms the upper portion of the great systems to which
Pottinger gave the name of the Brahooic mountains. The
range lies between 27^57' and 30^36^ N, and between 66^31^
and 67^^52' E, and includes the whole mass of mountainous
country between the Mdia river on the south and the
Pishfn Lora and Zhob rivers on the north. Between the
Mdla and Quetta the strike is north and south, but a few
miles north of the latter place the range turns sharply to
the east, and, continuing in a gentle curve gradually turning
north-east and northwards, becomes at length merged into
the system of the Sulaimdn range which forms the mountain-
ous barrier between Baluchistdn and the Punjab,

by Colonel Sir Thomas Hung-erford Holdich, K.C®M,G.,
K.C.I.E., C.B., R»E,, Chapter II, page 37,

The general formation is a series of parallel ranges which,
as already described, contain in their midst the narrow
valleys which form the upper highlands of Baluchistdn.

The principal valleys in this part of the District are the
Zawar’’^* or Harnai valley, whicli extends from the Chappar
mountain to the Ganeji Rift or, as it is now called, Spmtangi,
with a length of 56 miles and an average breadth of 6 miles ;
the Kach valley, about 4 miles long and i| wide, which lies
between the Pil and Bibai hills ; the Kowds valley which is
separated from Kach by the Lawarai Kota! ; and the
Zidrat valley which lies near the north-east end of the range
and is the summer head quarters of the province.

The hills of this range in the District are composed
chiefly of massive limestone, well exposed In Khalifat, which
passes into an enormous thickness of shales. Zarghfin con-
sists of corgiomerate belonging to the Siwdlik series and
coal is found in the hill ranges south of the railway between
the Chappar Hills and Harnai.

The name of Zarghdn is derived from the Pashtii word
meaning fiv.urishing.” It lies about 15 miles east-north-
east of Quetta and forms the apex of the Central Brdhui
range, which here spreads out eastward and south-east-
ward on either side of the Harnai valley. The main ridge
which separates Quetta-Pishin from Sibi, stretches in a half
circle from west, through north, to the south-east ; from
the centre of this curve another ridge stretches in a south-
westerly direction, thus forming three ridges more or less
parallel to one another. Between these ridges are deep
tangis or ravines with precipitous sides which can only be
crossed with the greatest difficulty. The two highest peaks,
known locally as Loe Sar or big peak (11,738 feet), and the
Kuchnae Sar or little peak {11,170 feet), are both on the
Quetta side of the boundary. The drainage on the Sibi side
is carried off by numerous torrents flowing in the direction of
Sdngdn. The lower slopes are thickly wooded with juniper
and an area of about 11,000 acres is preserved as a Govern-
ment forest, the locality being known as the Tor Shor
reserve. The indigenous population consists of a section of
the Pathdn tribe of Ddmars, who are mostly pastoral, but
some of whom of recent years have commenced to cultivate

* Locally known as the Zawarah,

Physical

Aspects.

Subsidiary

ranges.

Zarghi'm.

ZARGHUN,,

CHAPTER I-DESCRIPTIVE.

land in the neighbourhood of Zarghdn Ghar. In the sum-
mer months a fair number of Pathdns, both from the Hanna
valley and from the Khost and Harnai directions, bring

their flocks to graze. . . , , •

To the north of the Harnai valley the principal peak is
Khalifat, with an altitude of 11,440 feet which is the highest

in the District, a magnificent mountain having a sheer drop

of 7 000 feet on to the Shfihrig plain. It stretches from the
Mdngi Railway station eastwards to Kholizgai, the points ot
its termination towards Kowfis being called Tdranghar.
About half way up the southern slope, the ascent of which
is not difficult, is the shrine of Malang Sdhib, a Tdran saint
of some celebrity, who according to local tradition, in
consequence of the refusal of Ashraf Khfin, a Pdnezai Mdngi,
to give him the usual share of his crop, caused a land-slip to
take place in the Pil Rift or Khum Tangi, by which the
cultivation of Mdngi was stopped for seven generations.
It is only a few years ago that the embankments made by
the land-slip gave way and the lake which had been formed
thereby dried up.

From the summit, where there is a small shrine or zidrat
of the type commonly met with in Baluchistdn, a fine view is
obtained ; to the south Sdngdn and Gharraob and Bddra
with Sibi beyond can be seen, and on a fine day in the far-
thest distance may be observed the white outline of Shikdr-
pur more than a hundred and fifty miles distant in a straight
line. To the west lies Zarghdn, and behind it the eastern
peak of Takatu is visible ; on the north-west is the valley
of Pishin with the slopes of the Khwdja Amrdn beyond it.
On the east are a succession of peaks appearing one behind
the other, and extending into Marri country.

The few inhabitants of the slopes consist of the Akhtidrzai
section of the Pdnc^zai Kdkars and some Tdran Saiads, the
former being well known as shikaris and expert mountain-
eers. The lower heights of Khalifat and the ranges to
north, north-west and north-east, and especially in the
neighbourhood of Zidrat, are well wooded with juniper and
undergrowth ; and the juniper reserves, which are mentioned
in the section on Forests, are chiefly found in this part of
the District, To the south and south-east the hills are
generally bare and devoid of vegetation.

KHALIFAT.

The principal subsidiary ranges are : —

(1) The Chappar, a bare range of limestone hills lying
to the west of Khalifat and to the south of Mdngi. The
famous Chappar Rift, through which the railway runs, is
situated near the western extremity of the Khalifat range,
and is an extremely narrow gorge about two and a half
miles in length with perpendicular sides several hundred
feet in height.

(2) The Pi! mountain (9,730 feet) which lies to the
south of the Kahdir^ valley, and is cleft by the Mdngi
Tangi or Pll Rift which runs down from Kahdn to MdngL
The name is derived from the Persian word pil or fil^ ele-
phant, the mountain being supposed to resemble the shape
of the head and back of that animal.

('3) The Bibai range which runs eastward from Ahmadiin
and the highest peak of which is 9,934 feet.

{4) The Sdrghar range {10,064 feet).

(5) The Khusnob range (9,950 feet), which ends in the
Shahiddn slopes above Zidrat-i-Shahiddn, so called be-
cause three Pdndzai children were martyred there by the
Harris,

(6) The Jdnaksar range (9,670 feet) to the north of the
Zandra.

(7) The Zharghat range which ends in Kato (10,247 feet),
on the northern slopes of which the station of Zidrat is
situated.

(8) The Batsargi range (10,088 feet).

(g) The Nishpa range with the peaks of Tezarni, Shin
shobina (10,654 feet), Sangur, Khazobai and Loeghar.
This range extends from VVangi Tangi to Warn Tangi and
forms the boundary between the Pdi valley and Harnai,
and the road from Zidrat to Sanjdwi (Smailan) via Chautdr
passes along the foot of its northern slopes.

(10) A succession of peaks the highest of which are
Dongar Sar, Khun Sar and Pdnghar intervene between
this point and the Hard border. The Pdnghar hill is the
highest peak of the Pdn range which encloses the Harnai
valley on the north. This range is divided from the mass
of hills on the west by the Mehrdb Tangi, along which
runs the main road from Harnai to Loralai.

* iWd?.— The village and the valley are locally known as Kinr.

Physical

Aspects.

' Physical
Aspects*

Solaimin
Range. ■ , ,

■Ranges in
the Marri
country.

;8'' . CHAPTER I- DESCRIPTIVE,

Sulaimdn Range (28“3i/ 32V N; 6f$2/ 7o''i7VE).
The hills in the Marri and Bugti countries belong to the
south-western portion of this range. From the Kapip table-
land between the Shinghar and Mizri Roh mountains^ the
general line of the watershed takes a south-westerly direc-
tion to the Kohlu plateau, and thence winds in a generally
southerly direction over a succession of to the Zen

range in the Bugti country. On the east it is flanked by
parallel serrated ranges, and on the west these flanking
ranges take an east and west direction and meet the central
Brdhui range. South of the divide is a succession of ter-
races and valleys, gradual!}' descending on both sides to
the south-west and south into the plains of Sibi, Kachlii
and Nasirdbdd,

The principal mountains and ranges in the Marri country
commencing from the north-west corner and working to the
east are : —

(1) The Dungan (6,861 feet) range of hills, which sepa-
rates the B6ji river route from the Sembharpass route.

(2) The Lakar range {6,820 feet), which intervenes be-
tween the Pur plain and the Kuridk valley.

(3) The Sidlu range (8,112 feet), which forms the noiv
them boundary of the Pur plain separating it from the
Thai plain in the Duki tahsil.

(4) The Tikel or Tikh 41 (6,880 feet) and Butar {.6,770
feet) hills on the north of the Kohlu valley, dividing it
from the Loralai District The Kuba Wanga pass (4,900
feet) leading through Gursa or Girsani is at the east end
of the Kohlu plateau.

(5) The Jandrdn range, which runs about north-east and
south-west, separating the Kohlu plateau from the Khdt.
rdn country. This range is particularly steep and in-
accessible and can only be crossed by certain passes, the
principal of which are the Han and Bibar Tak in the
north and the Mdr, Daulla Wanga, Liinidl, Naridl, and
Mezhiare passes in the south. The highest peak has an
elevation of 6,720 feet.

(6) The Sidh Koh, dividing Phildwagh from Nisdu.
This range runs in an easterly direction fromf .the middle ■

Sham, a Baluchi name for the upland water-parting plains which
form a common feature throughout this country.

BUGTI RANGES.

of the Jandrdn range and terminates at the junction of
the Phildwagh and Kila nullahs. It has three conspi-
cuous peakSj the highest and the most eastern having
an elevation of 5,505 feet.

(7) The Kdp hills, a small range lying partly in Bugti
country and dividing Phildwagh from Kalchas and the

Sham plain.

(8) The Chappar mountain (4,674 feet), which encloses
the Makhmdr valley on the south. It is a conspicuous
landmark and is said to be the abode of the Marnh^' or
Baliich bear.

(g) The Sir Ani range (3,790 feet) lying to the east of
Kahdn and forming the boundary between the Kahdn
valley and the Bugti valley of Lobh.

(10) The Shatrak range (3,800 feet), forming the
northern boundary of the Kahdn valley. To its west is
the Ttirk-i-Koh, with the Dojdmak pass between Kohiu
and Kahdn crossing over it. The Tatra hill (4,020 feet
is to the north, and behind it is the Rastrdni range with
an elevation varying from 3,000 to 4,000 feet. The con-
tinuation north-west of the Tatra is the Tadri, and running
to the north-west of Tfirk-i-Koh are the Larga Bdra hills,
the continuation of which to the west is called Kodi.

(11) The Danda range, which bounds Kahdn on the
south. Its continuation to the west is called Nafusk (3,756
feet), Bambor (4.890 feet) and Gdranddni,

(12) The Sunari range which is situated in the centre
of the Marri country between the Bdji and Chakar rivers,
and runs north and south forming a large mass of hills,
the highest peaks of which have an elevation of 5,740
and 5,630 feet.

The principal mountains in the Bugti country are

(1) The Bambor, Nafusk and Danda ranges, already
mentioned, the southern slopes of which belong to the
Bugtis, and which divide their country from that of the
Marris.

(2) The Z 6 n range (3,630 feet), north of Shdhpur, Tong
and Gandoi, forming the southern extremity of the main
south-east watershed of the Sulaimdn mountains.

(3) The Mir Dost Zard hills which He to the west of the
Sham plains and form the boundary between the Bugtis

Physical

Aspects.

Bugti

Ranges.

CHAPTER ^--DESCRIPTIVE,

Physical

Aspects*

Rivers.

The Nari,

and Gorchdnis of the Ddra Ghdzi Khdn District. The
sources of the Kalchas, Son and Sangslla rivers rise in
these hills.

(4) The Khalandri hills {3,508 feet), dividing the Kalchas
valley from the Shori valley to the south.

(5) The Ki'ip range (2,730 feet), a small range of hills
connected by a low watershed with the Marri hills of the
same name. This range divides the Kalchas and PhiM-
wagh plains, forming the southern boundary of the latter.

(6) The Pir Koh range (3,650 feet) which lies between
the Pdthdr and Sidf rivers. The Traki or Takri pass,
about 7 miles north-west of Ddra Bugti, which is a narrow
gorge or rent in the rocks, formed the stronghold of the
Bugtis when their country was invaded in 1845 by the
force under Sir Charles Napier,

(7) The Giandari range (4,143 leet) on the eastern
border, which forms the boundary line between the Bugtis
and the Mazdris of the Dera Ghdzi Khdn District,

As has been already explained, the drainage of the Dis-
trict, with the exception of the eastern side of the Marri and
Bugti country, is carried off by the Ndri river and its
affluents, the general lie of the drainage being roughly
speaking directed from north to south.

The Ndri river rises at Tsri Momanrgai in longitude
67V at the watershed between the Shdhrig and the Bori
tahsils, 4 miles to the east of Spdrardgha, Here the river
or hill torrent, which has no perennial supply of water, is
known as Babai. It flows in an easterly direction for about
32 miles up to the China village, then turns to a south-
easterly direction, and about 48 miles from China is joined
by the Mara river from the north, and about 2J miles fur-
ther on the north-east by the Sdhdn and Watagdn rivers
which have permanent water. Here the river is known as
the Loralai. It then takes an abrupt turn to the south, and
passes through the Zdti Tangi, a gorge which is about 4
miles long and lies between the Kru and Gaddbar ranges,
and the river is henceforth known as Anambdr. Flowing
for about 10 miles in the Ldni country, it is joined from the
north-east by the Ldkhi stream and 8 miles below by the
Nardchi stream which has perennial water, and is now
known as the Bdji river. A little below its junction with the

THE NARL

Nar^chi river and about 4 miles from Chotidli, the river is
crossed at Ghdtl Pul by a masonry bridge. It flows in a
south-westerly direction for about 48 miles, and is joined
near the village of Quat by the Ddda stream from Harnai,
which has also perennial water. Following the same course
for another 9 miles, the Sdngdn stream, which has p3r»
manent water, falls into the Bdji about a mile below the
Bdbar Kach railway station. Hence it turns to the south
and through the Ndri gorge debouches into the Sibi plain.

The total length of the river from its source at Tsri Mo-
oianrgai to its exit into the Sibi plain is about 190 miles.

The river having to carry off the drainage of the enormous
catchment area of the Anambdr and Nardchi rivers beside
contributions from several mountain torrents, is between
Chotidli and the Nari gorge subject to very sudden and high
floods in the autumn, when it becomes a roaring torrent
fifty feet deep rushing in places between precipitous banks.
A railway line now runs through this part which has six
bridges between Sibi and Bdbar Kach, a distance of 23
miles.

The bed of the river for the greater part of its length
is covered with shingle, but from the Zdti Tangi to the
Ghdti Pul it passes through soft soil and the crossing is
unsafe except at regular fords. At its exit from the Ndri
gorge, the water is led by means of a dam and channel
to a masonry regulator where it is distributed into four
small canals which supply the irrigation water for Sibi
and the neighbouring villages.

Tamarisk, rushes, and tall reeds grow in many places
along the bed and banks of the river, skis ham and sufeda

are also found in that part of the river which lies in the Ldni
country. Writing in 1600 about “ the wonders of Sibi ” Mir
Masdm, the historian of Sind, who was at one time governor
of the Sibi district, says: — “On the banks of that river,
snakes are very numerous, very long and thin, and of those
bitten by them few survive. The people of that tract of the
country, from the time of attaining to manhood wear
long expansive drawers of untanned leather that they may

Physical

Aspects.

CHAPTER I-^DESCRIPTIFE.

■ Phybical be protected from injury from these snakes. L the author
Aspfcts . ^

of this work, reached that part and noticed that ground,

at a time when they had irrigated some of their fields, and

when I urged my horse through them, at every pace snakes

were seen. I desired to dismount near the stream as the

weather was very hot, but out of fear of these snakes, 1

went some distance away and dismounted in the plain.

It is probable that the Ndri may hai-’e been named after these

snakes.”

Tributaries The Ddda river, which joins the Beji at Ouat Maiidai.
OE the Nan. . . . . ^ ^ ?

D^da River. after passing through the Spintangi or Gandji Gap, carries

down all the drainage of the Zawar or the Harnai valley as

well as that of the large catchment area of the Zidrat hills.

the Ddda, which in its upper reaches is known as the Kach,

Mdngi, Khost and Harnai rivers, does not form one valley,

but is divided into several catchment areas, from which the

drainage escapes through the ranges by a series of narrow

defiles or ^an^is, technically known as valleys of erosion.

The best examples of these defiles in this area are the Chap-

par rift, the PIl rift or Mangi Tangi, the Kdsim Tangi and

the Mehrdb Tangi above Harnai.

Sdngan river, which meets the Ndri at Bdbar Kach,
collects the drainage of the southern slopes of the Zarghdn
range, of the Sdngdn valley, and of the large catchment
area of the hills to the south of the railway line,

TallifChd- The Taili stream, which is known also as the Suodimari,
ar)Rjver. Chdkar, Karmdri, Manjra and Gurk in different localities,'
rises in the hills bordering Kohlu near Kui, and flows due
west through the centre of the Marri country to Talli on the
borders of the Sibi tahsil, whence it turns south-west and
leaves the District near Gurg^j. Its perennial water is
either all drawn off for irrigation or loses itself in the sandy

bed of the stream soon after passing Talli.

The Chdkar Tang, just below the junction of the Manjara
and Khattan streams is a formidable pass, and the immense
boulders which obstruct it are traditionally supposed to be
the buffaloes belonging to the Baloch hero Mir Cbdkar
Khdn, which were changed into stone at his prayer and

GEOLOGY.

I ^

obstructed the passage of the Turkoman horse, who were
pursuing him.

Ti^e Lahri river which is known as the Ndl or Gandhdr in
the Marri country carries off the drainage of the Makhmdr,
Sort Kaur and Kahdn valleys, besides receiving other
affluents of !ess importance. It is a fine stream at Tratdni,
but is lost before it reaches Lahri except during fioods.

The Chattar is known in the Bugti country as the Sidhdf,
which with its affluent, the Pdthdr, drains the north and north
centre of the Bugti territory. These two streams join at
Sangsila, and the course of the river then proceeds in an
easterly direction until it strikes the Kachhi border below
Phuldji, the stream being now known as the Chattar.

The other principal streams which do not flow into the
Ndri are : the Shori which rises in the Mir Dost Zard hills in
the Bugti country and after being joined by the Tasso, cross-
es the Punjab border near Rabrodoni ; and the Heran which
rises in the hills south of Dera Bugti and flows due south in
the direction of Leni where it is lost in the sand hills.

The following account of the geology of the district has
been furnished by Mn Vredenburg of the Geological
Survey of India : —

The geological formations that have been observed in this
district are :

Siwdlik (Miocene and Lower Pliocene).

I Middle Eocene.

Senonian (Upper Cretaceous).

Lower Cretaceous.

Jurassic.

That portion of the district which is bounded on the north-
east by the railway line from Spintangi to Mudgorge con-
sists almost entirely of Siwdlik beds. The southern portion
of the Marri and Bugti country south of latitude 29° 30' con-
sists principally of Siwdlik and eocene beds ,v the part north
of that same parallel consists mainly of eocene and cre-
taceous, The north-western corner of the district, that is

Physical

Aspects.

Lahri River.

Chatta ■
River.

Other

Sitreams.

Geology.

CHAPTER /--DESCRIPTIVE.

Physical

Aspects,

the portion situated north-east of the railway line from Spin-
tangi to Mudgorge, consists chiefly of cretaceous and Juras-
sic rocks. The tongue-shaped prolongation of the district
which intervenes between Sind and Kachhi to the north of
Jacobdbdd is situated in the alluvia! plain of the Indus,

The hill ranges gradually curve round from a south-west
strike which they exhibit along the eastern portion of the
district to a north-western one in its western partj the strike
being east-west in the intervening area. The Siwdlik area
situated south-east of the Spintangi to Mudgorge railway
line has the structure of a broad shallow syncline. The other
hill ranges consist of alternating synclinal and anticlinal
flexures, very broad and shallow in the southern Bugti hills,
closer set and steeper in the northern and north-western part
of the district.

Unlike what one usually observes in countries where
denudation has followed a normal course, the ridges repre-
sent anticlinal domes, while the synclines form the intervening-
valleys. This results partly from the deficient rainfall owing
to which denudation has remained in a rudimentary state,
partly owing to the prevalence of calcareous rocks, through
the fissures of which the rain-water at once sinks to the low
level of the deeply encased river beds, situated at the bottom
of narrow gorges, and cannot therefore gather sufficient
volume on the hill slopes to produce any appreciable erosion.

The following are a few particulars regarding the various
formations exposed: —

Geological Formations.

Principal Exposures,

f Upper
Siwaliks I
(miocene | Middle
aud lower {
pliocene), j

L Lower

Coarse conglomerates.

Sandstones, conglome-
rates and red gypsi-
ferous clays.

The region,

' south-west of the
railway line from
[ Spintangi to Mud-
j" gorge, with the
e.xception of .the
Fine-grained calcare- , eocene limestone
ous sandstones. J ridge adjacent to
' the' railway the,
hills adjoining the
plains of Kachhi,
Sind and Derajat ;
the broad syncH-
,,.,v nal valley of *D:era '

GEOLOGY.

Lias (Lower
Jurassic).

Physical

Aspects.

Geological Formations. Principal Exposures.

, Middle
eocene.

Khirthar.

1 . Laki.

Lower

cretaceous.

^ Middle
Jurassic.

{ Upper Khirthar,"
white massive lime-
stone with NummtilUes
compla?zata ; “ Middle
Khirthar," white or
buff limestone with
NtimmuUtes attirica^
J A. laevigata and N.

' (^Assilina) spira.

‘‘Lower Khirthar,"
gfypsiferous shales with
A", laevigata and M
{Assilin^ exponens.

Rangfe interven-
ing between the
Siwdlik area, and
the railway line
from Spintangi to
Mudgorge.

Clay-shales

Mudgorge.

Senooian

(Upper

cretaceous).

“ Laki beds," Lime-
stones, shales, sand-
stones and coal-seams.
These beds contain
nummulites belonging
to the species N, aturica
and A^. {As Hlhi a) granu-
losa.

( Calcareous shales, sandstones
I and limestones, the upper beds
I containing strata with Cardita
j Beaumonti amidst layers largely
I made up of volcanic material ;
J the lower beds with Hemip-
neusiesj ammonites and other
upper cretaceous fossils. The
volcanic rocks associated with
the Cardita Beau^nonti beds are
i the representatives of the
L Deccan Trap of peninsular India.

“ Parh limestones," regularly
bedded white and red porcellanic
limestones, overlying black splint-
ery shales known as “ belemnite
beds,"

f Callovian.

Batlionian

and

Bajocian.

“Polyphemus
beds," ^ thin-bedded
dark lim e s t o n e s
named after the large
ammonites belonging
to the species Macro-
cephalites Polyphe^mis
which occur in them.

Massive grey lime-
stone of enormous
thickness (several
thousand feet).

Alternations of dark coloured
j shales and limestones with Spirt-
\ferina and many other liassic
Lfossils.

Harnai valley ;
probably a consi-
derable portion of
the Bugti hills.

Widely spread
north of latitude
29° 30' and in the
north-west corner
of the district.

These beds are
exposed principal-
ly in the north-
western corner of
the district, sur-
rounding the out-
crops of Jurassic
rocks.

Sembar pass at
the boundary be-
tween the Loralai
and Sibi districts.

Hill masses of
Kushnob and Kha-
lifat in the north-
western portion of
the district.
Southern cliffs of
Khalifat.

CHAPTER I-^DESCRIPTIVE.

Physical

Aspects*

Botany,

■ Near Dera Bugd, some remarkable mammalian bones
have been found,- apparently at the base of the Siwdliks^
They belong to Mastodon angustidens and other mammalia of
middle eocene age and are older therefore than the Lower
Siwdlik fauna of other Indian regions, which is upper
miocene. The locality where these fossils were collected
has not been surveyed in detail ; and it is doubtful whether
the beds in which the fossils occur are real Siwdliks, or
whether they might be fresh-water representatives of the
marine Gdj and Ndri series which are so extensively
developed in other parts of Baluchlstdn.

The two sub-divisions of the middle eocene known as the
Kirthar and Laki are so much alike that they cannot be
distinguished from one another except by the fossils which
they contain. It is important to distinguish them, because
the coal seams that const itute the chief mineral wealth of
the province are restricted to the Laki series. Both the
Khirthar and Laki series are extensively developed in the
district, but their exact distribution has not been ascertained.
Other minerals of value besides coal are petroleum which
was extracted for some time at Khattan, and alabaster which
occurs amongst the eocene strata at xMfuiiand and in the
Harnai valley.

Detailed geological descriptions will be found in Oldham s
descriptions of the Harnai valley and Thal-Chotidli country
in Volumes XXIII and XXV of the Records of the Geological
Stirvey of India ; in Townsend’s description of the Khattan
region, and Griesbach’s description of the Harnai Valley
respectively in Volumes XIX and XXVi of the same series ;
and Blanford’s description of the Bugti Hills in Volume XX
of the Memoirs of the Geological Survey of India. The fossils
have been described by Lydekker and by Noetling in series
X and XVI of the Pnlceontologia Indica,

A description of the botany of the District extracted from
an Account of the Vegetation of Baluchistdn compiled by
Messrs. J. H. Lace and W. Botting-Hemsley,'' Is giyen^^^4
Appendix 1. A list of the local names of some of the com-
moner trees and plants found In the District is also given
in the same appendix.

♦ Lzftnean Society* s Journal of Botany, Volume XXVUI.

FAUNA.

The wild animals include the wolf, the jackal, the hyena
and the fox, all of which are common in most parts of the
District. The black bear and leopard are also occasionally
met^ with in the Zidrat, Jandrdn and Ldkhi. hills. The
straight horned mdrlthor and the mountain sheep or gadh
are found in most of tne higher hills, the latter being the
more numerous and living in less inaccessible places. In the
lower parts of the District the ravine deer and occasional wild
pig are to be met with. Hares are common, and the coney
or Atghdn Mouse-Hare (^Lagoftiys 7'ufescens) is frequently to
be seen among the rocks of the Zidrat hills at elevations
over 6,000 feet. Writing in 18821, Dr. Duke said ; ‘‘ There
is an animal, however, which deserves notice and that is
?namk or small bear of these hills ^ All sorts

of wild stories are told by the natives about the mamh^ My
belief is that it is the common sloth bear or Ursus labiatus^
but Mr. Blanford, a high authority, says it is a brown bear
and that it is a distinct species which should be called Ursus
gefrosianus. All the skins, that 1 have seen, have been those
of a small animal, quite black with a white spot at the setting
on of its neck in front.” Later on he writes that Mr.
Blanford, on further examination ^ ^ has come to
the conclusion that tne mamh is only a race or variety of the
Himalayan black bear — Ursus torquatus.^^

Many legends are told by the inhabitants of this animal,
and among others that, except in the presence of man, it
always walks on its hind legs, that all mamhs are females,
and that each seizes a m in and forces him to cohabit with
her after laming him to prevent his escaping, all the young
being invariably female mamhs like the mother.

Among the indigenous game birds the chikor and sisi are
found in large numbers in the higher altitudes, and the
partridge, both black and grey, and the quail in the plains.
The ** ubara'^ or lesser bustard, known as the tiMr, and the
sandgrouse, of both the imperial and the pintail variety,
are ct>ld weiatther visitors and are found in large numbers tn
the Sibi plains in the months of November and December,
In the winter many varieties of duck and leal visit the coun-

t Surg'i on-JVJajor 0. T. Duke. A Jhtisto?ical and Ufscriptive Rap-
port on the Districts of Thai -Chotiali and Marnaiy CaXiLxxyi'a. (1883,)

Physical

Aspects.

Fauna.

CHAPTER DESCRIPTIVE,

Physical

Aspects.

Fishes.

? " ,

Climate*

: i8

try, but owing to the want of standing water they are
not seen in any large numbers in the upper parts -of the
District. Parrots swarm in Nasirdbdd, but they do not
appear to be able to cross the large intervening area of
and are not seen in Sibi. Ravens and magpies are found in
all the higher hills, and among birds of prey are the vLilture,
the lammergeyer, the golden eagle and several varieties of
hawks. The smaller birds have never been completely stu-
died. There are many varieties, but the numbers are small,
and the chief characteristic of the greater part of the District
is the extraordinary dearth of animal and bird life and the
general stillness of the country as compared with other parts
of India.

Among reptiles are snakes of many kinds, the majority of
which are poisonous, lizards, scorpions, centipedes, etc.

In the lower portions of the Ndri river near the plains, the
fishes found are those of Hindustdn and include many of the
common sorts. The fuahseer [Burbus mosal or tor) is plenti-
ful throughout, and large fishes exceeding twelve pounds in
weight have been caught in the Anambdr Gap above the
Duki plain. In the highland portions of the Nari drainage
system the low-country fishes give place to the mountain
barbels of the genus Oreinus^ which have not been satisfac-
torily classified and present a great individual variation.
Loaches (Nemacheilus) are ubiquitous.

In the lower reaches of the. Ndri and especially in the
neighbourhood of Bdbar Kach alligators (vernacular, ^ansdr)
are occasionally to be found.

The Nasirdbdd canals are well stocked with fish, which
belong to the varieties found in the Indus.

The climate of the District is generally dry, but the
temperature is as varied as the physical aspects. Thus
while the highlands possess a climate which is pleasantly
cool in summer and extremely cold in winter, the plains of
Sibi and Nasirfibdd suffer from the great heat common in
Upper Sind, which has the unenviable reputation of being
the hottest place in India. The low situation of these
tracts, the fact of their being bordered on the west and
north by bare and lofty hills, and the general want of forest
and water, are considered to be the chief causes of their
exceeding high temperature. Nasirdbdd has a mean temper-

RAINFALL AND WINDS. 19

atiire in July of 96“s and is subject to the effects of the simoom; Physical
the summer begins in March and lasts till the end of October. Aspects.
The Marri and Sugti 9e^untry and the Shdhrig tahsil (2,300
to 4,500 feet) possess a climate intermediate between the
extremes of the .plains and the highlands.

The average mean temperature of Sibi and Nasirdbdd is
about 96“ in the summer and 60“ in the winter months. The
highest temperature of the hottest days in summer frequently
rises to no” and less frequently to i2o\ In average years
the lowest temperature of the night is a few degrees below
freezing point (32”), and the average temperature of a winter
day ranges between 40” and 80”. At Shdhrig the average
mean temperature of the day time is about 88” in July and
about 46° in winter. Statistics of the temperature in the
upper highlands are not available.

In the highlands the seasons are well marked, and the Seasons,
year is divided into four seasons known by the Afghans as
psarlae^ dohae^ manae and zhmnae or Bamae, The main
characteristics of each season are briefly expressed in the
Pashtu pioverb, psciTlcts 'incifyiUT ^ dobae tcLTulv^ wiciticib tuhbiIt
and Bamae sariir, that is to say : spring is teeming, summer
sweltering, autumn sickly and winter needy.

Like other parts of Baluchistdn the District lies outside Rainfall,
the monsoon area, and the rainfall is irregular and scanty.

The rainfall varies with the altitude ranging from 3 to 4
inches in Nasirdbdd, 4 fc) 5 in Sibi, and nearly 12 inches in
Shdhrig, where the vapour-bearing clouds strike Khalifat
and empty their contents into the valley.

The stations at which rainfall is recorded are Sibi, Shdhrig,

Bdbar Kach and Kach, details for which are given in table
I, Vol. B. Shdhrig receives the largest amount 11-51 inches,

Kach comes next with 11*06, whilst Sibi and Bdbar Kach
receive 4-95 inches and 6*09 inches respectively. In the
highlands the largest rainfall occurs during the winter months
namely from October to March, the heaviest falls being
recorded in January, February, and March. In the plains
the greatest rainfall occurs during the months of July and
August,..

In the highlands the mountainous character of the country winds,
affects the direction and force of the winds, which in many
places partake largely of the character of draughts travers-

CHAPTER /--DESCRIPTIVE,

iCAL ing the fun'nel-iike valleys. The prevailing direction is
Aspects* westerly, and the cause producing the winds from this
quarter is believed to be the great heat arising from the
plains, which induces a steady current of air to blow from
the west so long as, this cause is in action. In the autumn
and early winter the wind shifts to the south-east and east-
sou h-e as t, Between January and March the direction is
very variable, and at this time there are often cold, bitter
winds blowing from the north. The winter rains are caused
by the south-west wind known as the khcirdni^ and the
summer rains by the south-east wind.

In the plains the prevailing winds are the west wind
in the winter and the south wind in the summer. The
hi or hikh (Punjabi a scorching hot wind of the

desert, is frequent during the months of July and x^ugust,
and causes much damage to the trees and vegetation.
Nasirdbdd is subject to the simoom, and both it and Sibi
are liable to frequent and severe sandstorms.

The folloiving description of the hi is taken from Hughes’
Baluchistda* : —

It is this (the hade simi'm or jiiloh) which makes travel-
ling in parts of the Kuchhi province at certain seasons of
the year almost wholly impossible ; and Cook, who has
given this subject great attention, has come to the conclu-
sion that it is caused by the generation in the atmosphere of
a highly concentrated form of ozone by some intensely
marked electrical condition. ^ ^

Cook gleaned the following items of information con-
cerning the ist : That it is sudden in its attack.

2nd : Is sometimes preceded by a cold current of air.
3rd: Occurs in the hot months, usually June and July,
4th : Takes place by night as well as by day. 5th : Has a
straight and defined course. 6th : Its passage leaves a
narrow, knife-like track. 7th : Burns up or destroys the
vitality of animal and vegetable existence in its path. 8th :

Is attended by a well marked sulphurous odour. 9th : Is
like the blast of a furnace, and the current of air in which it
passes is evidently greatly heated, and loth : Is not accom-
panied by dust, thunder or lightning.”

* The Country of Baluchtsidn by A. W. Hughes, F.R.G.S., F.S.S,

mSTORV.

Heavy floods are of frequent occurrence and often invade Physical

the lower vallevs with great suddenness and rapidity. In Aspects.

1885 when the Sind-Pishin Railway was under constructions I*ioods.
the Hariiai valley was visited by a series of violent floods^
ani one of these^ which lasted for six days in April, swept
away several bridges and many miles of temporary roads,
caused numerous accidents, and did an infinity of mischief,
destroying camping grounds, giving rise to malaria and
stopping the supply of food. After an interval ot five weeks
the floods again came down, more severe than ever; the
temporary bridges that had been erected were swept away,
and the line was cut in two ; and this state of successive
catastrophes went on without cessation til! the end of May.’”^

Severe floods also occurred in the Ndri in 5894 and 1900,
on both of which occasions considerable damage was done
to the railway line.

Slight shocks of earthquake are not uncommon, but in Earthquakes,
recent times there only appear to have been two occasions
on which serious damage has been caused. The first
occurred in January 1852 at Kahdn in the Marri country,
when a part of the fort was thrown down together with a
large number of houses, burying many men, women and
children. At the same time a large cave in a hill close by,
in which a portion of the tribe were living, fell in and buried
a large number of people. In all 260 Marris, including
women and children, and 80 Hindus are said to have been
killed. The second disaster occurred ten years later in the
Kohlu valley, when the villages of Fdzil Shahr (now Karam
Khdn Shahr), Ddda Shahr and Oridni were levelled to the
ground.

The history of the district centres chiefly round Sibi, or, History,
as it was sometimes written, Siw{, which owing to its posi-
tion at the mouth of the Boldn Pass, has always been a place
of considerable importance and has figured prominently in
the annals of the country. Gut off from the rest of Baluchi-
stdn by belts of intervening hills, Sibi itself during the earlier
part of its history appears to have followed the fortunes of
Kachhi and Multdn rather than those of Khurdsdn. In the
older maps the country between the Boldn Pass and the

* The Life and Times of General Sir Jatnee Brewne^ page 254.

CHAPTER [---DESCRIPTIVE,

History.

Early

History,

Brahman

Dynasty.

D^rajdt IS marked as Sewistdn, but this name has now-
passed out of common use among the natives of Baluchistdn
and authorities differ as regards the accurate definition of its
boundaries. It is difficult at this period to arrive at any
correct solution, as alterations in the course of the Indus
river have modified the local divisions of territory, districts
have become intermingled, and names have been inaccurately
applied in the narratives of the earlier writers. It is held
that the name of Sewistdn is erroneously given to this part
of the country, which was a dependency of the Bhakkar
district of Miiltdn and never formed a part of the extensive
province of Sewistdn or Sewistdn of Tatta or Sind. The
name, however, has been generally adopted in earlier
histories, and in the absence of conclusive proof to the con-
trary, it would seem desirable to retain it. AH local traditions
assert that the former rulers of this part of the country,
including Kaldt, were Hindus who were called Seivas. As
history shows that Muhammadan dynasties have held Balu-
chistdn from about the seventh century, an earlier period
must be looked for for the date of these Sdwas, and it is not
improbable that they were connected with the Rai dynasty of
Sind whose genealogical tables include two rulers named
Sihra,

A tribe known as Sibi or Sibia is mentioned in the histories
of Alexander’s invasion of India, but beyond a similarity of
names there is nothing to show that they were connected
with the modern town of Sibi. Prior to and at the time of
the rise of IsUm, Sibi seems to have formed a portion of an
extensive Hindu kingdom on the Indus, which at the time of
its first contact with the Arabs was ruled over by Sihra Rai,
whose capital was Alor, a populous city near Bhakkar. This
monarch was killed in Makrdn in a battle with the Arabs, ^ and
after the death of his successor Sahsi, the kingdom passed
into the hands of Rai Chach, the Brahman who ruled Sind
for forty years. Chach is said to have marched from
Armab^la fapparently B6la) through the Jhalawdn country
to Kandabil (possibly the modern Ganddva), and to have
afterwards encamped on the banks of the river Sini or Sibi,

^ According to Mfr Masdm, the historian of Sind, these enemies
were the Persians, of whom ‘Va great army of the B/idsh^h of
Nimroz invaded Kich and Makrdn from Pars byway of Kirman.*’

EARLY HISTORY.

which may be identified with the Ndri of the present day.
He is described as having compelled the inhabitants of this
part of the country to pay him a tribute of a hundred horses
and a thousand dirhams^' of money.

The first Muhammadan invasion under Muhammad Kdsim,
the Arab general of the Caliph Walid, took place during the
reign of Ddhir, the son of Chach. The seizure of an Arab
ship at a Sind seaport drew upon him the w’rath of the
Caliph, whose victorious army was led by Kdsim through
Makrdn to Sind and conquered the country up to and includ-
ing Multdn.

In the interval that elapsed before the next Muhammadan
invasion, nothing is known of the history of the district, but,
at the beginning of the eleventh century, Sibi and the
neighbouring country formed part of the Ghaznivid empire
under Mahmud, who captured Multdn in 1004.

In the time of Nasiruddin, Kabdcha, who asserted his
independence in Sind during the reign of Altamash, the
slave king of Delhi, Sibi is mentioned as forming one of the
seven kingdoms of Sind tributary to Multdn and as being
ruled by Rdna Wakija, son of Punnun Channun, a petty
Muhammadan feudatory of Hindu descent.

The subsequent history is obscure, but about 1250 the
town of Sibi and its dependencies are said to have been
held by Rai Sihra, the head of the Langah tribe of Multdn,
who, according to Tod, were Hindus by descent and a
branch of the Solanki Rdjputs, but according to native
writers a branch or tlie Jats. In the confusion which
followed the withdrawal of Timur after the sack of Delhi,
Muhdn became independent under the Langahs, and Sibi
seems to have been recognised as a dependency of that
province, though the actual possession appears to have
alternated between the rulers of that province and those of
Kandahdr.

In 1470, Sultdn Husain Mirza of Herdt is said to have
made over the territories of Shdl (Quetta), Pushang (Pishin)
and Sioi to Amir Shujduddin Zunndn, the Arghdn, but
according to the Ain-i-Akhari^ the *‘Siwi fort” was conferred
as a fief in 1488 on Shdh Bdg, the son of Shujduddin

^ A dirham equals about 2 pies of Indian money.

The first
Muhamma-
dan invasion
A.D. 71 f.

Second
Muhamma-
dan invasion
A.D. 978^

A.D. 1004.

A.D. 1225.

A. D. 1 250.

A.D. 1470.

Argil un :
Dynasty.
A.D. 151 1

,24 '/GHAPTER I-DESCRIPTIVB.

History* Zunniin, by Jdm Nizdmuddin of Sind, generally known as
Nanda.

About 1511, Sbdh marched against Sibi to resume
his lief and captured the town after a severe struggle* After
rebuilding the fort, which he strongly garrisoned, Shdh
returned to Kandahdr. He was, however, compelled to
retire before BAbar, and evacuating Kandahdr made his
head-quarters at ShAl and Sibi, In 1517 he led an expedi-
tion into Sind and defeating JAm Feroz, the son of JAm
A.D, 1515® Nanda, captured and sacked Tatta in January 1519, ShAh
Big died in 1522 w^hen leading another expedition against
GuzarAt and was succeeded by his son Mirza ShAh Husain,

In 1543 ShAh Husain bestowed the Government of Sibi
on SultAn Muhammad KhAn (sometimes written SuItAn
Mahmud), son of Mir Fazal, KokaltAsh, a favourite of his
father. According to Mir Masiim, SultAn Muhammad
took several forts which had been held by Beeloochees
for many years. He severely twisted the ears of these
vicious people of KohistAn, bringing them under subjec-
tion” was about this time (1543) that HumAyiin passed
through Sibi on his retreat from India,

ShAh Husain died in 1554, and after his death his terri-
tory was divided between Mirza Isa, TarkhAn, who had been
appointed Governor of Tatta and SultAn Muhammad, the
: latter retaining the territory- of Bhakkar. In 1573, SultAn
Muhammad tendered his allegiance to the Fmperor Akbar,
and his territory, hitherto held by him independently, was
confirmed to him as a fief. SultAn Muhammad died in the
following year and was succeeded as Governor of Bhakkar
by one Saiad Muhammad. At this period Sibi appears to
have come Into the possession of the Panri tribe of Ghur-
gusht PathAns or AfghAns, who had first begun to acquire
power on the decay of the ArghAn rule.

In 1576 an expedition was sent against Sibi under Saiad
Abul Fazal, the son of the governor, who captured the fort
in spite of a valiant resistance by the Panrls. Shortly after-:
wards the Mughal contingent was withdrawn and the Panris
again took possession of the country. This led to another
expedition in 1587 which was repulsed with loss, and in 1595
there was a third expedition which resulted in the capfure of
the fort, Mir MasAm of Bhakkar, the historian of Sind, who

EARLY HISTORY.

was then appointed as governor, has left the following de- History.
scription of Sibi as it appeared in his time “ The territory of
SIwI and Ganjdbah (Gdoddva) is thus situated. The range
of Sitpur stretching along the banks of the great river (Indus)
as far as the village and lands of Kin, reaches as far as
Siw! ; and Bdtdh, which is one of the places dependent on
Kandahdr, lies ' between. From this place the territory
(SIwI) having assumed the shape of a complete semi-circle,
again approaches the banks of the river. This intermediate
space is all dasht (open plain); and the route leading to
Kandahdr runs through the midst of this dasht. The length
of the territory, from the river to Siwi, is one hundred kuroh
(^£7^) and the breadth is sixty kurok. Over the greater part
of this tract the sarm'mi blows for a period of four months
in the year and the period during which it prevails is the hot
season. In the dasht of Siwi there used to be forts and inha-
bited places, but they are gone to ruin.”

In the time of Akbar, Sibi was assessed to revenue as a

fnahdl of the Bhakkar sarkdr of the Multdn sdha^ and paid

1,381,930 in cash and furnished a contingent of 500

cavalry and 1,500 infantry. During the reign of Jehdngir

and Shdhjehdn, the province of Sewistdn seems to have been

kept in the utmost subjection, but in the reign of Aurangzdb

on account of the disturbed state of the frontier districts

of the Multdn sdha^ and the excesses of the marauding

Baloch tribes,” the Shahzdda Muhammad Muizzuddin,

grandson of the emperor, was appointed as governor or,

‘‘Ndzim of the Multdn stlbad^ At this time Sibi and its

dependencies were held by the chief of the Panri tribe

Mirza Khdn Bdrdz li, who had received the title of Nawdb

and also administered the affairs of Upper Sind.

His son Nawdb Bakhtidr Khdn, who had bee^ entrapped A.D. 1700,

into opposing the Ndzim’s forces, was killed in 1700 and

0, farmdn oi congratulation was despatched to the Prince

together with a dress of honour and a jewelled dagger for

his services in rooting out the rebel Bakhtidr.”

In 1712, Ydr Muhammad, Kalhora of Sind, was appointed i7i2.Kalhora

governor of Bhakkar by Muizzuddin, who had succeeded to
® ■ ' * ■ 'Smd.'

the throne of Delhi as Jehdnddr Shdh, and received the title

of Nawdb and afterwards that of Khuda Ydr Khdn Abbdsi.

In 1730-1, Abdulla Khdn, the Brdhui Khdn of Kaldt, was 173010 1731.

History.

1739 -

Nddir Shdh,

A.D. 1747.
Durrani
Dynasty,

A,D, 1839.

A.D. 1841,

26 CHAPTER I— DESCRIPTIVE.

killed while fighting with Ni'ir Muhammad, the son of Ydr

Muhammad.

In 1739, the provinces west of the Indus were annexed to
the Persian empire by Nddir ShAh, and Ndr Muhammad
was delivered over into the hands of Mohabat KhAn of
KalAt that he might avenge the death of his father. The
BrAhui chief, however, declined the commission of murder,
and NAdir ShAh compelled the Kalhora prince to cede
Kachhi or Kach GandAva to the KhAn as an equivalent or
atonement for tne blood of his father. Kachhi is accord-
ingly always spoken of as having been acquired for Kalat
by the blood of Abdulla KhAn.

After NAdir ShAh’s death, the Panris seized the opportunity
to again acquire Sibi and SAngAn, and the DurrAnis found it
convenient to confirm the BAriizai chiefs in the position
which they established, but as hakims or governors rather
than as independent rulers. The BArtizais were never able
to assert their authority in Zawar (the Harnai valley) or in
Thai, and it would appear that, for purposes of revenue, these
two districts were worked or occasionally raided by agents
from Pishin or by the DurrAnis of Quetta.

The BAriizais retained their position during the rule of the
BArakzais, and at the outbreak of the first AfghAn war in
1839, Misri KhAn, the head of the Panri tribe, tendered his
services to ShAh Shuja and was taken into British service
with a number of his followers, who were styled the ‘‘ Baloch
Levy,” In March 1841, Mr. Ross Bell, the Political Agent
in Upper Sind, deputed one of his assistants with a detach-
ment of troops, under the cooimand of Colonel Wilson of
the Bombay Cavalry, to collect the arrears of revenue due
from the Khajaks of Sibi on behalf of ShAh Shuja. The
detachment was accompanied by Misri KhAn, and on the
Khajaks refusing to comply with the demands, attacked
the town, but were repulsed with heavy loss, loslno fifty-
three men killed and wounded and four officers uicluding
Colonel Wilson. Reinforcements from BhAg were sent up
under General Brooks, but before they could arrive the
Khajaks abandoned their town, the defences of which were
then demolished. The Khajaks were permitted to return
during the following year and the town was rebuilt.

From November 1841 to September 1842 an Assistant

THE MARRIS AND BUGTIS,

Political Officer resided at Sibi. When the British troops
were withdrawn from Afghanistan on the termination of
the war, the district was handed over by the British to the
Khdn of Kaldt, but it does not appear to have been occupied
by him, and in 1843 again came under the Bdrakzai rule.

The ininiic^ration of the Baloch tribes into India from K6ch
^ and Makrdn appears to have been coincident with the time

of Bdbar and Humdydn, and their hero Mir Chdkar, Rind,
is said to have allied himself with the latter and accompanied
him to Delhi. About this time the Rind Baloch commenced
to overrun the hills of the present Marri country, and accord-
ing to tradition Mir Ch^kar himself stopped for some time
near the defile which bears his name. It was at this time
that the Usbegs were pouring down from the north, and it is
probable that the w^andering tribes of the Rind and Ldshdri
were retiring before them. On their arrival in Sewistdn
they came into collision with the Arghdns (Turks), and
Marri legends relate that Mir Chdkar fled before the Turks
as far as the Chdkar Thank, where, in answer to his prayer,
his buffaloes were petrified into large boulders which
checked the advance of his pursuers. The Turks then
encamped outside the Tangi on a plain which is still known
as Turk Khand or the Turk’s flat*

The Baloch continued to increase in strength and import-
ance, and by degrees the hilly country to the north and
north-west of Kachhi was occupied by the Marris, a power-
ful tribe formed, as will be described later, by a confedera-
tion of refugees and deserters from other clans. The hills
to the south of this tract were held by the Bugtis, who, like
the Marris, made raiding and robbery their principal occu-
pation. Both tribes were claimed as subjects by the Khdns
of Kaldt, and during the reign of the great Nasfr Khdn
(1750-1793) seem to have been kept well in hand ; but on his
death the reins of authority were relaxed, and during the
effete rule of his successor and the weakness of the Bdrdzais,
these tribes as well as the Dombkis extended their devasta-
tions in all directions. They were at the same time en-
gaged in a constant round of intestine warfare and blood
feuds among themselves. This unsatisfactory condition of
affairs was found existing when the British Government
first came in contact wuth the tribes in 1839 ;

History,

A.D. 1843.

The Marris
and Bugtis.

A.D. 1839.

2S ■ CHAPTER /--DESCRIPTIVE.

History, niay be attributed the losses which Lord Keane^s army
suffered during its march to Afghdnistdn through Kachhi
and the Boldn. After Lord Keane’s army had passed through
the Boldn, a small force was despatched under the com-
mand of Major Billamore to punish the offending tribes*
The detachment marched from Sukkiir through Shikdrpur
and Phul^ji to Lahri and was at first employed in punishing
the Dombkis and Jakhrdnis, who fled to the hills under
their leader Bijdr Khdn. Major Billamore then proceeded
against Kahdn, which was occupied without serious opposi-
tion. The British force left the hills in February, 1840, and
in the month of April a detachment was sent under the
command of Captain Lewis Brown to occupy Kahdn per-
manently. This small garrison, which suffered many losses,
was besieged in Kahdn till September, when, on the reliev-
ing column under Major Clibborn having been severely de-
feated in the Nafusk Pass, it was compelled to accept
terms from the Marris’*^ and evacuate the fort.

^ From the date of the evacuation of Kahdn, there was
little communication between the British and the Marris till
1845!! when Sir Charles Napier undertook the chastisement of
the Jakhrdnis, Dombkis and Bugtis and entered into nego-
tiations with the tribe through Captain Jacobf to close the
line of retreat to the north. The Baloch were driven into
the Traki near D 4 ra Bugti where they were compelled to
surrender.

This campaign, however, does not appear to have had any
permanent effect, and the following year witnessed a suc-
cession of raids on the part of the Bugtis into Sind territory,
which culminated in the great raid of the 1st of October,'
1846, when Lieut. Merewetheri of the Sind Horse killed over
600 of them near the Zamdni river.

The raids by the Marris and Bugtis continued, and in
eptember 1848, Captain Jacob reported that “the whole
province of Kachhi is being overrun by the Marris, and the
peacefu l inhabitants are fast leaving the country with

■I J**® ftese events are given in Chapter V, which de^

with the Mam and Bugti tribes. nico aeals,

t General John Jacob, C. B., founder of Jacobdbdd.

* Afterwards^Colonel Sir W. L. Merewether, K-C.S.f C.B
Commissioner of Sind. ^

Expedition
against the
Bugtis, 1845.

Bugti Raids,
1846,

sm ROBERT SANDEMAN.

their families and property to reside in Sind. The tract
of country in the NAn river is almost entirely deserted.”

Both tribes were subsidised by the Khdn of Kaldt after
the treaty of 1854^ but their conduct showed no improvement,
and in 1859 Mir Khuddddd Khdn was compelled to lead an
expedition against the Harris. Kahdn was occupied and
the expedition, which was accompanied by Major (afterwards
Sir Henry) Green, was successful. It does not, however,
appear to have had any lasting effect, as a second expedition
had to be undertaken in 1862, also apparently without
much beneficial result.

The state of the country became more and more disturbed
and it was at this juncture that Captain (afterwards Sir
Robert) Sandeman appeared on the scene. As Deputy
Commissioner of Ddra Ghdzi Khdn he entered into direct
relations with the Harris and Bugtis in 1867, and proposed
that these tribes should be subsidised on a regular system
by the Government. This proposal was supported by the
Bombay and Punjab Governments but was strenuously
opposed by Sir William Merewether, who, notwithstanding
the Khdn^s acknowledged inability to govern them, still
considered him the owner and sovereign of the lands
inhabited by the Harris. In 1870 a conference was held at
Mithankot between the Punjab and Sind authorities with
the ultimate result that Captain San deman’s proposals were
sanctioned and allowances were granted to the tribesmen.
The immediate result was that the raids on the Punjab and
Sind borders ceased, though they continued in every other
direction and even extended as far as Kaldt itself. The trade
of the BoMn and of Kachhi was stopped, and the last feat of
the Harris was to destroy the town of Kirta in the Boldn. Then
followed Sir Robert Sandeman’s two missions to Kaldt in
1875 and 1876, which resulted in the establishment of the
Baluchistdn Agency at Quetta in 1876, when the relations
with the Harris and Bugtis became closer and they were
dealt with independently of the Khdn. From this date the
improvement in the conduct of the tribesmen was rapid and
remarkable, until the Harris were thrown off their balance
by the disaster at Mai wand and the sudden withdrawal of the
troops from the Harnai valley. On the 6th of August, 1880,
a band composed of the Tingidni, Chhalgari and Bijardni

History*

A.D. 1862.

A.D. 1867.
Sir Robert
Sandeman,

A D. 1875-6.

The KuchdU
Raid, 1880,

CHA PTER /-^DESCRIPTIVE.

History.

Formation of
the District,

A,D. 1878.

sections attacked a convoy as it was passing through
Kuchdli. Forty-two men were killed and a large amount
of Government property, including treasure amounting to
Rs. 1,25,000 was looted. In consequence of this and other
outrages in different parts of the country, the Government of
India determined to send a military expedition to punish the
tribe, and advantage was taken of t:ie return of the Kdbul-
Kandahdr Field Force to despatch a brigade under General
MacGregor for this purpose (October 1880). The force
marched through the Sembhar pass, Thai and Kohlu without
opposition and occupied Kalian, where the chief MehruIIa
Khdn and the leading headmen tendered their submission.
A fine of Rs. 2,00,000 was imposed, of which Rs. 1,25,000
were paid, Rs. 25,000 were remitted, and the Quat-Mandai
lands were occupied as security for the payment of the
balance.

Up to the second Afghan War Sibi continued to be held by
the Bdrfizai chiefs as governors of the Afghdn rulers ; but
owing to the constant raids and encroachments of the Marris,
the country was, at the request of the sardm's and people,
occupied at the commencement of the war by a detachment
of troops from Jacobdbdd, and the administration of the
District was controlled by a Political Officer (Captain Curzon
Wyllie) under the direct orders of the Agent to the
Governor-General. This officer was also placed in charge of
the Boldn Pass.

The first phase of the vvar closed with the treaty of
Gandamak (May 1879), by which Sibi, Harnai and Thal-
Chotidli were handed over by Ydki'ib Khdn to the British
Government. The treaty was shortly afterwards abrogated
by the massacre of the British Resident at Kdbul and the
deposition ofYdki'ib Khdn, and at the close of the second
phase of the Afghdn war it was decided at the strenuous
instance of Sir Robert Sandeman to retain the areas ceded
by the treaty, though final orders for permanent retention
were not passed till 1882.

In 1879, a Political Officer ( Captain Reynolds ) with
head quarters at Jacobdbdd was placed in charge of the
Khdn’s lands irrigated by the Sind canals, all matters con-
nected with the railway and the affairs of the Bugti tribe.
The administration of Sibi was also shortly afterwards added

THE BOZDAR COLUMN,

to his charge. At this time Captain H, Wyllie held charge of
Pishln and the Kdkar tribes, while the Harnai and Thal-
Chotiali Districts, which include the Harnai valley, Sdngdn,
Diiki and the Thal-Chotidli country were administered by
Surgeon-Major O, T. Duke, who was also in political charge
of the M arris.

In 188O5 the state of the country became unsettled owing
to the events in Afghdnistdn, and on the 24th of March
Captain Showers, the Commandant of the Baloch Guides,
together with a number of his men was ambushed and killed
ill the Uzhda Psha pass near Dirgi by the Pdndzai Kdkars.
A survey camp under Captain Fuller, R.E., was shortly after-
wards looted near Fuller’s camp, and Sir Robert Sandeman
himself, who had immediately moved up from Harnai with a
small detachment of troops, was attacked at the foot of the
Chappar hills, it was considered advisable at this juncture
to avoid isolated military operations, and the Kdkars embol-
dened by the inaction of the Government assumed an openly
defiant attitude. In August 1880 after the disaster at Mai-
wand the Pdn6zais reinforced by contingents of the Sdrang-
zais and Zhob Kdkars under Shdh Jehdn, Jogizai, attacked
the Kach fort, which was held by 300 men of the i6th
Bombay Infantry. The Kdkars were repulsed with consider-
able loss and the troops following up their advantage burnt
the villages of Kach and Ahmadfin. In 1881 the Pdnezais
and Saraiigzais surrendered to Sir Robert Sandeman, and
their couhtry, which had hitherto been attached to Pishin,
was placed under the charge of the Political Agent, Thal-
Chotidli.

At the close of 1881, when the troops were returning to India
from Kandahd.r, a small column, designated the Bozdar co-
lumn under the command of General Wilkinson, w^as sent from
Quetta to D^ra Ghdzi KhAn through the Kdkar, Tarin,
Marri and Li'mi districts. The march was successful, and
this pait of the country which had only been partially
explored was thoroughly opened up. In December 1882
Sibi was transferred to the Thal-Chotidli District, and the
Political Agent was also placed in charge of the Boldn Pass
and in political control of the Bugti, Dombki and Kahdri
tribes. Taking advantage of the return of troops from
Kandahdr, a small column was sent in April 1883 into the

History.

Murder of

Captain

Showers.

The Bozddr
column.

1882.

1883.

CHAPTER I-^DESCRIPTIVE.

History.

1886.

1887.

1890.

Kach-Kowds valley to punish the tribes who had taken part
in the murder of Captain Showers and the attack on Kach.
The tribesmen surrendered unconditionally, and it was
decided that the Kdkar country which had already been
added to the Thal-Chotidli District should be assessed to
revenue. In the same year Captain G. Gaisford was
appointed as Assistant Superintendent of Levies and
officw Assistant to the Political Agent, Thal-Chotidli, and
was posted to Duki. The post of Assistant Superintendent
of Levies was abolished in 1886 when the Bori valley was
taken over, and the appointment was changed to that
of an Assistant Political Agent with his head quarters at
Loralai. The Bdrkhdn and Kh^trdn valleys were occupied
in 1887 and added to the Thal-Chotidli Agency. In
March of the same year the Political Agent was relieved rf
the charge of the Boldn Pass, which was transferred to
the Quetta- Pishin District.

In November 1887 the Kach-Kowds and Harnai valleys,
Sibi^ Duki and Thal-Chotidli were declared parts of British
India, and for the purposes of administration as regards
these tracts, the designation of the Political Agent was
changed to that of Deputy Commissioner.

On the formation of the Zhob Agency in 1890, the Bori
valley, Sanjdwi and Bdrkhdn were transferred to that
Agency ; but the Loralai Cantonment and station remained
under the Political Agent, Thal-Chotidli, and became the
head quarters of the District. In the same year the Police
were re-organised and placed under the Assistant Political
Agent who was also District Superintendent of Police.
Owing to the disputes between the Zarkdns and the Marris,
Kohlu was brought under British protection and added to
the Thai-Chotidh District in 1892. In February i 8 gi San»
jdwi was again transferred to Thal-Chotidli, and Bdrkhan
was added in April 1892. In January 1894 the Loralai Can-
tonment and station were handed over to Zhob. The
Assistant Political Agent was relieved of Police work in
November 1897 and the force was placed under the District
Superintendeiu of the Quetta Police. On the reconstruction
of the Districts in October 1903, the Bdrkhdn, Duki and
Sanjdwi tahslls were transferred to the new Loralai District,
the name of the Thal-Chotidli District was changed into

ARCHAEOLOGY.

that of the Sibi Districtj, and the Nasirdbdd ?itdb(Zts which
had been taken over on lease from His Highness the 'Khdn^
was added as a sub-division. For purposes of administration
the Districtj as now constituteds is divided into three sub-
divisions, Shdhrig, Sibi and Nasirdbdd, and the Political
Agent also exercises political control over the Marri, Biigti,
Dombki and Kahdri tribes,

file following officers have held the appointment of the
Political Agent : —

History,

Mr, R. I, Bruce, CJ.E

Captain G. Gaisford

Mr. R. I. Bruce, C.LE..

Captain G. Gaisford

Mr. R. I. Bruce, C.I.E

Captain I. Macivor, C.LE.

Major C. E. Yate, C.S.I., C.M.G.
Captain PI. M. Temple (in addition to
his duties as Political Agent (KgJdt
and Bokin)

Major C. E. Yate, C.S.L, C.M
Lieut. A. H, McMahon
Captain C. A. Kemball
Captain H. L Showers
Major I, Macivor, C.I.E.

Lieut. -Col. G. Gaisford
Lieut. C« B. Winter
Captain M. A. Tighe
Captain C. Archer
Captain H. L* Showers
Cai tain R, A. E. Benn
Captain W, M. Cubitt
Captain C. Archer...

Major F. Macdonald
Captain A. McConaghey
Captain H. Gough...

Captain S. G. Knox

Septem-

1SS2 to 22 nd
her 18S5,
to 24th December .1S85
to 25th July 1S86.
to 25th October 1SS6.
to 2nd May 1SS7.
to 7ti'i April 1S90
to 23rd September 1891.

to 24th November 1891.
to 19th April 1S92.
to 16th April 1893.
to 19th September 1894.
to I St December 1894.
to i6th March 1S96.
to 14th March 1898.
to 9th April 1898.
to 15th March 1899.
to 4th April 1899.
to 1st May 1899.
to 22nd May 1899.
to iith Oc!o er 1S99.
to 31st March 1901.
to 9th March 1902.
to I St February 1903.
to 19th February 1903.
to i8th October T 903,
to 31st March 1905.

List of

P..>litical

Agents.

Major M. A. Tighe.

There are no imposing structures of any kind to indicate
the condition of the country in ancient times, but many logy. '
mounds, said to be the ruins of old cities, with local tradi-
tions attached to them, are found scattered throughout the
district,

A n ound about 628 yards in circumference and about 135
feet in height above the level of the surrounding country is Kuhna Kila.

CHAPTER /—DESCRIPTIVE.

History.

Old mud
forts.

Cairns in
Kohlu.

Armenian

ascriptions.

situated in the Usmdni land near the Ldni village about 8
miles from Sibi. It is said to be the ruins of an ancient city
founded by a semi-mythical infidel king named Dallu Raij
who, according to local tradition, married his own daughter
contrary to all usage and established custom, and thereby
incurred the wrath of the deity who destroyed his city* The
fact that somewhat similar mounds are found in the Boldn
in Pishin and near Appozai in the Zhob valley, which are
also assigned to Dallu Rai and have similar local traditions,
is not without interest It was on this mound that the
notorious Hdji Khdn Kdkar of Barshor, who was some
time governor of Pishin under the Bdrakzai, built a fort,
the ruins of which remain and which have given the present
name of kuhna Mia or the old fort to the locality.

The ruins of ancient mud forts are found near the villages
of Ahmadi'in and Manra in the Ziarat hills. These are
ascribed, like most other ruins, to the Mughals, There are
also forts at Sdngdn and Sibi which are attributed to the
Mughals, though the Sibi fort has probably a more ancient
origin.

Small cairns and heaps of mud are found on the road
between Kohlu and Bdrkhdn, and according to tradition
mark the destruction of a large kdfila by snow during the
reign of Mahmfid of Ghazni.

Ill 1901, certain inscriptions were discovered by R. S.
Diwdn Jamiat Rai, then officiating as Extra Assistant
Commissioner of Sibi, in the Ush Narai or Camel’s Pass,
about 2 miles from Kach. The impressions were sent by
Dr. Vogel, Archseologicai Surveyor of the Punjab Circle, to
M. Ed. Drouin, a specialist in Semitic Epigraphy and
Secretary to the Socieie Asiatique at Paris, who has thus
recorded his opinion : —

“ The inscriptions are in Armenian letters and have been
engraved on the stones by people who belonged to the
Armenian colony established in Baluchistan in the beginning
of the seventeenth century. Two of these Inscriptions are
dated 1050 and 1067 of the Armenian era (1606, 1618 A.D.).
We know from the historians that Tahmisp (1524-1576) and
Shah Abbds (1584-1629) ravaged Georgia and Armenia :
Tahmdsp in 1547 and AbhAs in 1600, 1603 and 1618. A
large number of Armenians were transported into -several

ARCHAEOLOGY.

parts of the Persian Empire : Isfahdn, Afghdnistdn, Makrdn,
etc.”

"The inhabitants of Djulfa, a town of Aderbadsan, built
near Isfahan, a town which they called New Djulfa (Armenian

Nor Djougha)*

have communicated my decipherment to Mr. Barmad-
siaii, an Armenian scholar living in Paris, who has
agreed that the writing was an old Armenian writing
rudely engraved on the stone. Consequently there remains
some doubt with regard to the missing or obliterated
letters. I must remark that the Armenian Era is gene-
rally accepted at 5S^“552 A.D.” In connection with this
Dr. Vogel writes that '' the inscriptions contain only a
name and a date, but are of interest in connection with the
historical fact referred to above. The explanation of their
origin offered by M. Drouin possesses much probability, but
cannot, at present, be considered certain.

Ush Narai is a barren pass on the main road from
Kandahdr to Sind and the Panjab. In old days this road
was much frequented

^^From ancient times Armenian merchants carried on an
active trade with India through Persia, which flourished
especially under the reign of the Mughal Emperors, Akbar
and Jahdngir. In Agra and other places in India, there
existed extensive Armenian colonies, to which numerous
sepulchral inscriptions still bear evidence.^" On the other
hand it should be noticed that no Armenian colonies can
now be traced in the Kaldt Agency. We should therefore
have to assume that the reputed settlers of the seventeenth
century, on their conversion to Isidm, have become complete-
ly merged in the indigenous Brdhui and Baloch tribes. It is
of interest that at Kdbul an Armenian colony, established in
the reign of Tahmdsp and Shdh Abbds, has survived up to
the time of Shdr Ali Khan. They had preserved Christianity

* Cf. N. J. Seth. History of the Armenians in India
i^ 97 )s PP» 37 > 7 ^* An extensive Armenian cemeter3?' exists at Silrat,
detached tombs are found at (Cunningha^n, i, 37),

and in the Hyderib^d State {Consents Lists of Remains in H. H. the
Nisdnds Territory., pp. 63 and 64),

History.

CHAPTER /--DESCRIPTIVE.

History* and lived m the Bdla Hisdr near Shdh Shahid gate, but are
' said to have been banished by the late Amir Abdur Rahman.

In view of the above facts, may we not suppose that Arme»
■ Ilian traders left their names . carved on these stones a^ a
^ record of their having crossed the Camel pass on the high
road from Persia and India.”

Population. ' Little or nothing is known of the early ethnographical
EthooKra- history, of the District, but it is certain that the Afghans,

pfeicai Baloch, Brdhui and Jat, who now occupy it, are compara-

iss ory. recent immigrants. As already described in the section

on History, Sewistan prior to the Miihamiriadan invasion

formed a portion of a Hindu kingdom with its capital at Alor
' on , the banks of the ■ Indus, and the country would appear
to have been thickly populated., Mir Masdm, writing in
1600, speaks of the ruins of several ancient cities in the
neighbourhood of Sibi. All local tradition asserts that
both Sibi and the Harnai valley were held by a Hmdii dynas-
ty called Sewa, but there is nothing definite to show how
the ancient: inhabitants were gradually supplanted.

The Afghdns who now occupy the Shdhrig tahsil, the
Kohlu tahsil and part of Sibi, appear to have entered the
District from the north-east, emigrating from their homes
round the Takht-i-SuIaimdii. The Tarins, it is believed,
came into the District about the fourteenth century and the
Kdkars, who branched off from the parent stock in Pishin,
somewhat later.

The great influx of the Baloch from the westward appears
to have taken place during the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries, as by the sixteenth century there is authentic
evidence that they were numerous and were making raids
and forays in all directions. The Jats, who represent about
25 per cent, of the total population of the administered area,
are a collection of Muhammadan tribes without any common
origin, and it is possible that some of these may be the
descendants of the original Hindu inhabitants who were
converted to Isldm at the time of the Muhammadan
conquests. The Brdhuis, who are found chiefly in the
Sibi and Nasirdbdd tahsils, are mostly nomads, though a
few have acquired land and become permanent settlers.
They are all offshoots from the parent stock inhabiting
Kaldt territory

TOWNS AND VILLAGES

TIi 6 first reg'ulat census of the District, the results of Population,
which have been published, was carried out in 1901. The Density,^ ^
District was divided Into three divisions for the purpose t
{a) the towns, railway bazars, etc,, in which a synchronous
enumeration was made on the standar-d schedule; [h) the
tribal areas, Le., the Marri, Bugti, Dombki, Kaheri and
Umrdni country in which estimates were prepared through
the headmen of tribes, the same method being followed in
Nasirdbdd which was then a of the Kaldt State, as

was also the case with the Marris occupying the western
portion of the Kohiu tahsil ; and (c) the remainder of the
District in which a rough house-to-house enumeration was
made by the subordinate staff. This was not synchronous.

The results arrived at g'ave a total population of 735893,
of which 7,924 were censused on the standard schedule
and represent, in the main, the non-indigenous population
of the District. Tuis figure (73*^93) does not include the
Marri and Bugti country (38,9r9) which has been dealt with
in Chapter V, or the population of the Dombki, Kah6ri,
and Umr^ni country (19.51.2) which forms part of the Lahri
nidbat of Kachhi in Kaldt. A detailed statement containing
the principal census statistics will be found in table 11,

Volume B.

In 1901 the total number of occupied houses in the
administered area was 15,178 : 1,391 in the towns and 13,787
in the villages, and of the total population the urban part
numbered 4 » 55 ^ rural 695342. The incidence of

population per house in the urban area was 3*2 and in rural
areas about 5. The average population per square mile was
about 18, the highest being 42 in Nasfrdbdd. In the Marri
and Bugti country the population was 7 per family and 5 per
square mi le»

The only town in the District is Sibi, which has grown up Towns and
since the British occupation, and is inhabited largely by an

alien population. ,

In pre-British days the number of villages was smaller,
the people being obliged to live together for offensive and
defensive purposes. This was especially the case in
Sibi, which was exposed to constant raids by the Marris,
and where in 1879 M, L. Dames found that there
were only 7 inhabited villages, while the country was studded

CHAPTER I— DESCRIPTIVE,

Pgfulation, with the ruins of no less than 40 deserted villages. There
is now a tendency to spread out, and new villages and
hamlets are gradually springing up. In igoi, the number
of inhabited villages in this tahsil, including Sdngdn, was
32, the total number in the whole District being 23S or one
village in every lysquare miles. Nasirdbdd has i village in
miles, Kohlu i in 15 miles^ Shdhrig i in 17 miles, and Sibi
I in 42 miles. There are a very few villages which have a
population of over 1,000 souls. The most important places
are mentioned in Chapter IV in the Miniature Gazetteer of
each tahsil.

The Marri and the Bugti country, which has an area
of 7, 12g square miles, has only 5 villages, the majority of he
population being nomads.

Growth of Previous to iSgi no regular census was attempted, and in
population, that year the operations were confined to the Sibi and
Shdhrig tahsils. The only information available as regards
earlier years is derived from the rough estimate of Sibi
and Sdngdn (13, goo) made by Mr. M. L. Dames in 1S79 and
of the Zawar valley (4,822) by Dr. O. T. Duke in the same
year. The growth of population, therefore, cannot be
illustrated by reliable figures.

In 190-1, the population of Sibi (excluding 846 in Sdngdn)
was 19,680 against 13,401 in 1891 or an increase of 47 per
cent. In the Shdhrig tahsil there were 16,573 persons
in 1901 against 16,241 in 1891 or an increase of 2 per cent.
This comparatively small increase in the Shdhrig tahsil is
due to the fact that a considerable portion of the alien
population which existed in 1891 has since left the District.

Besides the improved methods on which the census of
1901 was carried out, the increase in the population of the
District may be attributed partly to the greater security
to life which has attended the British occupation. It may
also be presumed that the rise in the standard of living,
which has undoubtedly taken place among the indig'enous
population, has led to more frequent marriages and a conse-
quent increase in the birth rate.

Migration* majority of the indigenous population in the plains are

settled, but in other parts of the District there is a con-
stant flow of migration, the causes being the nomadic
habits of the tribes, the variations in the climate, and the

AGS STATISTICS, ETC.

periodical visitations of scarcity and drought which compel Population.
the people to seek more favourable districts.

The Sdrangzai, Pdn6zai, Diimar and Wanechi tribes of the
Shdhng tahsil are largely flock-owners, and spend the summer
in the hills and the winter in the Zavvar valley. Lar^’e
numbers of Harris migrate to the Kohlu valley, Duki and
Bdrkhfln in the summer months in search of grazing, and
the Sibi plain is a regular resort in the winter for Brdhuis,

Ghilzais, Harris and Bugtis. Large numbers of Jats from
the lower portions of Kaldt also regularly visit Sibi during
the spring harvest, when they work as labourers. In time
of scarcity and drought Harris, Bugtis and the people of Sibi
dependent on dry crop areas migrate to Naslrdbdd and Sind.

In 1901, 5>547 persons (males 4,264 and females 1,283) were Immigration
enumerated in the old Thal-Chotiali District who had been
born in the provinces of India, 2,144 who belonged to other
parts of Baluchistdn, 238 who had been born in Native States
of India, and 522 born in countries adjacent to India, chiefly
Afg'hdnistdn.

The province in India from which most immigrants come
is the Punjab (3,721), and Sind and the United Provinces come
next with 862 and 821 respectively. The immigrants from
Native States represented 89 from the Punjab, 74 from
Kashmir and 40 from Rdjpdtdna. The immigrants from the
Punjab are drawn principally from the Districts of Amritsar,

SidlKOt, Jhelum, Jullundur, Hoshidrpur, Gujrdt, Gurddspur,*

Gujranwala and Rdwalpindi.

No detailed record of age was attempted in 1901 except Ag-e statis-
in towns, military stations and bazars along the railway line tics, vital
which were enumerated on the standard schedule ; in the fnfanf morta-
District adults were merely distinguished from minors. Out of ?'*y> “d
a total population of 60,658, which represent the principal
indigenous tribes of the District, there were 33,507 males,
including 19,479 adult males, and 28,151 females. The
number of male children under 12 years of age was 13,028.

Out of the 4,551 persons, representing the population of Sibi
town, 1,323 were under 20 years, 2,356 between 20 — 40 years
and 748 between 40 — 60 years.

Vital statistics were not recorded in the District. A
summary enquiry regarding the birth and death rate during
the year 1905 was made by the tahsil officials by selecting

Population^

Comparative
number of
sexes, and
civil condi-
tion.

Marriage

customs.

CHAPTER I— DESCRIPTIVE.

a few villages in each tahs.'l, the result obtained indicating
47 per cent, of births and 4-5 of deaths on the total popula-
tion of those villages during the preceding 12 months. The
birth rate for boys was 2-6 and for girK 2 ; while the death
rate for male children was 1-5, of female children i, of adult
males i r and adult females ‘SS. According to these en-
quiries the highest birth rate was 7-2 in Kohiu and the lowest
3 7 in Sibi, while the highest death rate was 9 8 in Nasirdbdd
and the lowest 2-6in Sibi. Longevity among the indigenous
population, more especially in the highlands and in dry cron
ai ..as, appears to be infrequent owing to constant exposure
to the seventy of the climate and to bad nutrition.

A .summary enquiry made by the tahsil officials in certain
selected villages shows that in a population of 11,605 the
total number of afflicted persons was 109 or -94 per cent
of which 74 were males and 35 females. ^

The disproportion of women to men in the stations and

iT" 'T “'>■ S"*! to oven-

hoosond tte sibi .he popola.S

seeded, .here were »o»e„ ,o eve,/.L„sand

Among the rural population there were 28,151 women and

th^Bairh" thousand men. Among ■

the Baloch who form the major portion of the population^
the proportion of females to males was 854 to r 7 ^

Saiads w’ I'd ro"'*" T 7 ^nd

as hrnol-W e^ery man marries as soon

or lab) CO ^ T"’ Payment of bride price fitifl/w;-

lab) compels many to wait till middle arrp ti • ■

specially the ^ Tins is

the Kdkars M • poorer nomadic classes among*

b performed by a full grown woman Th« 77 ■ ^

expressed by one of the leading

bloLt

marriage ceremonies.

So far as can be ascertained polygamy is rare, except
among the well-to-do, though the people have no objection
to a plurality of wives up to the limit of four prescribed by
Muhammadan law. The summary enquiry instituted by the
tahsll officials,^ to which a reference has already' been made,
elicited that in a population of 11,605, number of
married males was 2,716 or 23-4 per cent,, of ivhom 159 or
5*8 per cent., only had more than one wife. The wealthy,
who are the only class with the means to pay walwar more
than once, take more wives than one, either for pleasure,
01 5 sometimes foi the sake of offspring, Pol) gamy is
occasionally forced on the poor among the Afghans by the
custom which requires that one of the surviving brothers or
cousins must marry a widow. Cohabitation with concu-
bines (kanls) is permitted by custom.

Among the Baloch and Jats, marriage with the near
relations is general, as the system of exchange largely
prevails, and it is also preferred among most other tribes
because exchanges can be easily arranged, the bride price is
less, the parties are already mutually acquainted, and iheir
tribal relations are strengthened by the marriage tie.

Among the well-to-do the bridegroom is generally about
twenty and the bride four years his junior, whilst among the
poorer classes both the bridegroom and the bride are gene-
rally older. In rare cases infant betrothals take place, and
then only among very near relations. Ordinarily a man has
nothing to say in the selection of his bride, but when his
parents wish him to marry they look for a suitable girl and
the first step taken is to send a female relation to see her
and to satisfy herself about her personal appearance and
other qualifications. Among the very poor or when marriage
takes place among the well-to-do at an advanced age, the
man makes his own choice.

Among the Baloch lab or bride price is only paid when a
bride belongs to a separate clan or tribe. Among endo-
gamous groups there are three systems of marriage : (i) the
nan^ when no stipulations are made : (ii) the sa hadal also
known as Jzano wait or system of exchange of girls between
families, and the pei when the condition is made that a
daughter born of the marriage will be given to a relation of
the bride’s parents. Among the GoJas the lab is alway paid,

'Population.

Marriage

ceremomes.

Baloch

marriage

customs.

the amount varying from Rs. loo to Rs. i,ooo accordinc. to

the position of the parties. The ceremony of which

renders the betrothal (sang) binding is thus performed.

When the relations on both sides are assembled, the bride’s

father brings a cup of milk into which the bridegroom’s father
drops a few rupees. The cup is then handed round and the
milk IS sipped by all. The bridegroom’s father presents the
bride with a su^/ian (pair of trousers), (shift), sari

(wrapper): a pair of shoes, a silver ring and ear-rin^s
being sometimes added. The marriage day (rrVA) is then
fixed, the usual time being immediately after the raU or
harvests, but the must not fall in the month of
Muharram, or on the Bam %mfdt. When the date has been
finally arranged, the bridegroom’s father sends a seer of
ttour,^halfaseerofg«;-, andthesame amount of ghi to the

bnde s father, this ceremony being known as and

burionV"'"^ relatives, from whom contri-

bu ions in money mokh) are received. A few days

wrist of tT ^ ‘'"‘°“red thread {gmia) is tied to the

tect h mself from evi spirits. On the same day the women
of the family grind 5 or 7 seers of corn (always an odd
numbei), which is kept over for the use of the couple after
marriage. This is called The customs..ttending he

eremonies of .fr/, the girding on of the sitS are

havetl^y

On the marriage day the wedding procession, accom-

fo”the brideV?"'"' bridegroom’s party, moves off

been erected separate shed [chhapar) has

• ^i* feasted, the nikdh

IS read by the After tbia ti,., u -j > m/za/i

ed to the sheH . 1 *. bridegroom is conduct-

to the shed and the heads of the bride and bride-room

are placed together seven times {sar »ic7). Horse racin-

shooting at a mark and dancino- are th» i.- r racing,

weddin-s and fnr.A ■ , chief amusements at

l,.r 4-.wLr“or,.'„tch oS„a“y tjLZ

C HAPTER I —DESCRIPTI VE.

MARRIAGE CUSTOMS.

of a cow, buffalo or camel or a few rupees*

In cases of the re-marriage of widows no ceremonies are
observed except the nikcih. On the death of her husband,
the woman can return to her parents and for purposes of
re-marriage is at their disposal, except in cases in which
bride price [lab) has been paid when she is at the disposal of
the heirs of her deceased husband.

Among the Afghdn tribes of the District the amount
and payment of %mhmr (bride price) is the most im-
portant factor in all matrimonial arrangements, but the
system of exchange of girls, which is known 2 ,ssarai, sarhada
and kanowati also prevails. The Pathdn customs and cere-
monies differ from those of the Baloch in many essentials
and there are also many variations among the different tribes
themselves, but the following account of the Kakar marriage
ceremonies may be taken as fairly representative : — i'he girl
having been approved, the father of the bridegroom with
some of his relatives {marakka) goes to the girl’s father and,
if the preliminary overtures are well received, the amount of
%mlwar\s discussed and also the presents, which the father is
willing to give to his daughter. If the father of the bride
consents tj the match, the walwar is fixed, and the girl’s
mother or grand-mother thereupon presents the bridegroom’s
father with a needle in the 6)76 of which has been inserted a
silk thread. Guns are now fired, sheep are killed and a feast
is given to the bridegroom’s party. This is the preliminary
step in the betrothal and is known as the hokra. This cere-
mony of hokra is binding. xAfter it has taken place, it is
considered a want of good breeding on the man’s part to
retreat without a plausible excuse, and any one who does so
is regarded with contempt. In the case of the woman the
hokra is considered binding except under special circum-
stances, such as adultery on her part or strong suspicion
of it. '

After about a month a portion of the walwar is paid, and a
party of the bridegroom’s relations goes to the bride’s
father, who presents them with a silk kerchief, the colour of
which is generally green, and which has silk rosettes or
silver ornaments on the four corners. This is the kozda
or betrothal, and at this time there are again general rejoic-
ings, dancing, etc.

Population*

Marriage
customs
among the
Afghdns.

CHAPTER I— DESCRIPTIVE.

Population.

When the TOWhas been fully paid, a date is fixed for
the marriage {niUh), which is performed in accordance with
Muhammadan rites at the bride’s house. Besides the
■malwar, Hie bridegroom has to supply provisions to the

entertainment of the wedding

Bride price.

, . ui Liie weudino*

guests V The father of the bride also gives presents ivhich
generally consist of a suit of clotnes for the bridegroom
one or niore dresses, a few silver ornaments and articles of
household furnnure for the bride.

In cases of widow re-marriage no ceremonies, except the
mkah, are observed. On the death of her husband L

them does not marry her, she is usually married in the

Of that

wal"about Rf h''" K^^ars

Tirls f p paid in kind. It now

vanes from Rs. 200 to Rs. 400 for .a virgin and about ha I

the amount for a widow, and is paid partly in cash and partly

Among the Makhidni (Tor Tarinsl of cjhdK.- .u

varies fro™ Es. ,00.0 1 . e^Z jZJ't ffoT T’’

beinp* ahnut half T-u 7 . Chat tor a widow

Demg about hM . The varies from Rs. la to

nrev 1 ^ “^^hhidnis have a curious custom which also

prevails among other Pathdns of the Shdhrig tahsil In

Pishin and in many parts of Ghdo’ai and in ”

which the husband presents his w f .u f
which he hopes to obtain IfterTeath b''
from his hearih in his Iht 1 1

from one-sixthtomie-third ar^d t^ I fr ^ ™

from the onus of o-ivino' a ".i ^ saves the husband

onus ot giving any dower upon earth.

Jn, E^rfot

oero^oo, “X";' “/“i;--''

presented with a pair of red trn„ bridegroom is

afterwards permitted to visit the bS’ Z ^
may not meet the bride. The ^ i be

is Rs. 12/8. usual rate oi haq-i-mahr

..000. A eT “ '' “ “

“luea at half the amount and the

/ATS,

price of a divorced woman is still lower. The system nf d

exobanye of girl, pr.,ai|, .„o„g .Lhal,°

are also permitted between virgins and widows. ^

The Panri Afghans of S,bi consider it derogatory to marry The P •

.heir g,r„ „e„ of o.h.r .ribes, .ho.gh“,be/.lTbS

ondes lom neighbouring clans. The Bdri'izais marry their

gir s ,b.„ o„ o,.„ and

walwar, Amonp' the P^nr'^^ i-u^ tiemana

varies from °= ! o ®

yanesfrom r.s, aootoRs. 500, The is Rs 12

and the husband aNo presents his wife with a fourth share

Th. Tt; r * •''“I)'

1 he Sheikhs claim to be Saiads, but now form nart of th. c ■ .
Makhidni tribe and foilow their customs. With the excep
fon ot the Bukndri Saiads, who do not give their
outsKie their own section, all other Saiads inter-marry with
he tribe with whom they live. The ordinary among

themselves vanes from Rs. 200 to Rs. 300, but the tribes-
men are orten willing to pay double the price for the honour
of- marrying into a Saiad family.

Paid IfXf marriage custom of the jats.

Panii At hdns with whom they have been living for gene-

ations. VVheninter-marryingamongthemselvestheleading

lam.lies ot the Jats do not demand or pay rti.W,
other cases the rate varies from Rs. 200 to Rs. 500 In
addition to the haq-i-viahr the bridegroom pays a small sum,
enerally Rs. 7, as shir bahU lit. suckling) to the bride’s

ofserved by .he Baloch of the

1 etui ns to her parents and is at their disposal as regards

re-marriage,

The Jats of the Naslrdbdd tahsil follow the marriao-e
customs of the Baloch, but pay which varies fro*m

Rs. 100 to Rs. 400. After the sarmel or the placing of the
leads together, a small lump of cotton is placed alternately
on the head of the bride and the bridegroom and each has
to pick It This is called the gtdchin. Then the women of
t e amily give a pinch of salt to the bridegroom who
places It 111 the bride’s hands, this part of the ceremony bein^
known as sihra, A sheet with a sword or knife tied in each
corner is then held over the bridegroom who is conducted to
a kandi tree and is called upon to lop a branch with a single

CHAPTER I-DESCRIPTIVE.

Population, stroke of a sword. This is done to prove his strength and

manhood.

The code of morality among the Jat camel breeders and
artisans is loose, and it is a common saying that a headman
who gives his camels to a Jat to graze thereby also acquires
a claim upon the affections of the Jat’s wife^ The rate of
walwar varies from Rs. 5 to Rs. 100 according to the position
of the parties.

Divorce. Divorce is rare among the Baloch as the usual punishment

for infidelity is death and it is considered a disgrace to
put away a wife for other reasons ; it is also infrequent
among the Panris and the better classes of Jat mminddrs.
Among others the usual reasons for divorce are the disagree-
able appearance or temper of the woman and immorality
proved or suspected. The usual method of divorce is the
throwing of three stones or clods of earth into the lap of the
woman in the presence of two witnesses. The divorced
woman hasthe status of a widow" and can re-marryjn her tribe,
but if she is divorced for misconduct, tribal custom does not
permit her to marry her seducer. Amongst the Zarktins, a
woman can obtain a divorce if her husband is proved to be
impotent. To effect this, pressure is brought to bear on the
husband by her parents through the tribal headmen. If a
Wandchi woman is divorced at her own request, the husband
is entitled to recover about half of the mikmr paid by him.
Among the Tarins, Kdkars and the Jats of Sibi, if a woman
is divorced for her own fault, the husband claims compensa-
tion [khulla) from the man who marries the divorced woman.
The amount is not more than one-third of the walwar.

Penalties Before the British occupation, death was the punishment

for adultery. ^ faithless wife caught flagnmte delicto. This still holds

good among the majority of the hill Baloch, but with the
Patbdns and also with the Jamdli, Umrdni and Khosa Baloch
of the Nasirdbdd tahsil, the injured husband is generally
ready to salve his honour with compensation in girls, money,
etc., the amount payable varying in different tribes. No
compensation is payable if both the seducer and the woman
are killed. If both escape, the woman is divorced, and
among the Makhidni and Wanechi Tarins, and Sanatia
Kdkars, she can marry her seducer when the compensa ’
tion has been paid. Among most tribes there is no fixed rate,

STATUS OF WOMEN,

the ccmpensation {ne^}, which gfenerally consists of one or
more girls and about Rs. 200 in cash, being determined on
the merits of each case.

The position of women among the Afghdns of the high-
lands and among poorer classes of other parts of the Dis-
trict is one of extreme degradation. No sooner is a girl fit
for work than her parents send her to tend the cattle, besides
making her take part in all the ordinary household duties.
Owing to the system of walwar in vogue, when she reaches
nubile age, she is, for all practical purposes, put up for sale
to the highest bidder. Her father discourses on her merits
as a beauty or as a housekeeper in the public meeting places,
and invites offers from those who are in want of a wife.
Even the more wealthy and more respectable Afghdns are
not above this system of thus lauding the human wares
which they have for sale. A wife must not only carry water,
prepare food and attend to all ordinary duties, but she must
take the flocks out to graze, groom her husband’s horse and
assist in cultivation. She has no rights in property, and,
if divorced, she can, as a rule, only carry away with her the
clothes she ds wearing. As a widow, she is only entitled to
a subsistence allowance from her late husband’s estate. In
the household of a deceased Afghdn, widows and girls are
merely regarded as assets in the division of his property,
and though the system is discouraged by Political officers,
it is no uncommon thing to find that a son is willing to hand
over his mother to an applicant for her hand on the receipt
of the stipulated walwar.

In former days a brother, who did not wish to marry his
brother’s widow himself, could dispose of her in marriage to
any one he chose and appropriate the %mlwar^ but an appre-
ciable change has occurred in the position of such widows,
since an important decision was given by Mr. H. S. Barnes,
then Agent to the Governor-General, in November 1892 in
the case of Liikmdn, Kdkar, versus the Crown : ‘‘As regards
a widow’s power of choosing a husband,” Mr. Barnes
said,/! Muhammadan Law must not be overridden by local
inhuman and ignorant custom and in all disputes regarding
widow re-marriage brought before the Courts in British
Baluchistdn or the Agency territories, the courts of law
should follow the provision of Muhammadan law, in so far

Population,

The status
of woman
and rights
to property.

CHAPTER I— DESCRIPTIVE.

Population.

as that law gives to widows full liberty and discretion to
marry whon, they please ; and no case of the k,nd should Z

committed to ay^r^oa for settlement wi.hout a clear direction

t iat, on this point of the widow’s freedom of choice, no cur-
tailment whatever will be permitted of the liberty and
discrehon which Muhammadan law allows her. The onlv
point m which any concession to local tribal custom can
be permitted IS that which relates to the payment which
should be made by the new husband to the late husband’s

feuds which mignt otherwise arise from allowing widows to
marry whom they please, it is admissible for courts to settle
the sum of money which should be paid to the family of the
widow’s late husband by the man she proposes to marrv.
This IS the point in the settlement of these cases, which
may useiully be made over to a jirga for decision.” This
decision was re-affirmed by Sir James Browne in June i8q-
in the case of Musamnffit Miryam, Ydsinzai, when an or£r
of the Political Agent, Quetta, debarring the widow from
marrying any member of the Karozai, Sulaimdnzai and
Bdrezai sections was quashed, and the tvoman was permitted
to marry according to her own choice, subject to the pay-
iTient of tho whIwclTi, ‘ ^

Among the Baloch and the wealthier classes of Jats the
position of the woman is somewhat better.

Inheritance. Except among the Saiads and Pdn&ai and Saran-zai
Kdkars who follow the Muhammadan Law in such cases
the women are allowed no share in inheritance. Among the’
Makhiani an exception is made in the case of a widow if her
late husband has left no near male relations. Inheritarce
among males is governed by tribal custom, but is based on

the general principles of the

1901, was recordedin the old Thai
Chotidh District only m the case of 8,471 persons, who were
censusea on the standard schedule.* Of these only 1,561 spoke
the vernaculars of Baluchistdn ; Sindi was spoken by 14 «o
persons, Punjdbi by 3,724 and Urdu by 1,261. The number of

Language,

PASHTtl.

^ud.liedtmmoi It, onginaliy introduced in the District bv Populatic',.
officials who came in the early days of the British occupa-
I.IOU rom the Derajiit, is making- way among- the indigenous
popuiation and especially in the villagfes round Sibi.

The pnncijDaf dialects spoken by the indigenous popula- ' ' ’ '

t.on are Baluchi, Pashtd, Brdhui, Jatki and Sindi. The
inedium ol correspondence, except in the case of official
documents, is Persian among Muhammadans and Sindi

among the localised Hindus.

Baiuchi is tecnnically described as belonging to the Baluchi.
Iranian oranch of the Aryan .sub-family of the Indo-Euro-
pean family. The form used by the tribes in the District
IS known as the Eastern dialect as oppo.sed to the west-
ern ot Maitram dialect, and the words in use for common
objects and acts are nearly all pure Baluchi, the remainder

af die language being- borrowed from Persian, Sindi and

Funjabi.

Pas-itii is spo.sen by the Afghdns in the Shdhrig and Pashtd.
kohiu cahsils, also in Sangan. The Khajaks of Sibi speak
1 ashai which has a mixture of Sindi words and the Panri
Afghdii.s speak Sindr in their homes. The Zarkiins of Ori-
dni speak khetram. The Makhidni and Wanechi Tarins of
Shahrig use a modified form of Pashti'i ivhicn is known as
the Chhalgan or iarhido. This dialect differs from the
ordinary Pashtd of the Quetta District and according to the

tradition the progenitor oftheWandchis quarrelled with his
him saying “ warsa, pa sAadS de sok ma

poiesha-, that .s “begone, let no one understand thy
language.” Amons- “

included the foliowino-

English.

Father

Wind

Sun, ...

Builock ... ,

Game! ... ■

...

Milk ....

Butter miik

the peculiar terms of Tarindo may be

Pashtii.
pklr ...
held ...
nmar
g'hwae
lish .i,
spai
shodae
sharambae

Clarified butter ((?/,. i!). ghuri
pagrai

Tarindo.

piir.

wdgu.

mer,

Idzhda.

wdsh.

spa.

shwa.

shanizu

runrdh.

malastanr.

CHAPTER I— DESCRIPTIVE.

Population. Jatki or Sindi is the dialect of the Jats of the plains, who
Jatld. represent about 25 per cent, of the total rural population of

the District.

Races, tribes The following table shows the distribution by races and
and castes, tribes of the indigenous inhabitants of the administered
portion of the District

Baloch

Total ... i9»2:5o

f Bugti ...

...

Bul6di

... ... .«o

Dombki

Magassi

-{ Marri ...

... '.*

1 Rind ...

I Umrdni

a,, .0. ...

[others

Afghans

f Kilkar ...
I Panri or
, { Tarm ...

1 Zarki'm
f Others

Panni

Bnihui

f Bangulzai
Langav
Zehri ...
Lahri ...

■{ Mengal
Pindrdni
Raisdni
Shahwdni
[Others

f Salad ...
Kh^trin
Abra ...
Jat

-j Bhangar
Katpdr
Lori ...
Sheikh
i Others

Total

3,732

L556

95S

9,348

2,402
953
59 J
285

325

3,232

17,136

These figures do not include the population of the Marri,
Bugti, Dombki, Kaheri and Umrdni country which in 1901
was as follows

Marri country ... ... ••• ... 20,391

Bugti country - ... ... .*• ••• 28,528

Dombki, Kaheri and Umrdni country 29,542

Excludes 7 Dehwars.

. r ■

• i ^

TRIBAL CONSTITUTION.

ft will be seen that the Baloch are by far the most numer-
ous in the administered area, while the tribal area is almost
entirely populated by that race. Afghans come next with
26 per cent, the Jars follow with 25 per cent., while the Sal-
ads and Khetrdns contribute 2 and i per cent respectively.

i\ Baloch tribe is not a homogeneous group, but has
attained irs growth by the gradual assimilation of a number
of alien elements, the process being admission to partici-
pation in common blood feuds, then admission to partici-
pation in the tribal land, and lastly admission to kinship with
the tribe. At the head of the tribe is the chief or tumanddr^
with whom are associated the niukadam or heads of clans as
a council of war, the office of miikadani being hereditary. At
the head of each section is a wadera^ whose office, like that
of the head of the clan, is hereditary, the whole section com-
bining to place the pcigri on his head, just as the whole
tribe combines in nominating a new chief. With the %mdera
is associated the mukadani of the section, who acts as the
%mderds executive officer, his business being to communicate
the wadef'ds orders to the viotahars, i.e., the headmen of
sub-sections. The office of the 7 mik:adam of a section is not
necessarily hereditary, a man of judgment or ability being
often selected. Among the Marris there was another officer
to whom special duties were assigned during raiding ex-
peditions, namely, 7 'dhBanj who held a hereditary office,
accompanied all expeditions, and whose duty it was to kill
any tribesman who fled from the line of battle. Besides
an extra share in plunder, his principal privilege was
that he incurred no liability to blood-feuds or payment of
compensation.

An Afghdn tribe differs in certain respects very materially
from a Baloch tribe. Theoretically, it is constituted from a
number of kindred groups of agnates ; that is to say,
descent is through the father, and the son inherits the blood
of the father. The groups comprising the tribe are divided
into a multiplicity of sub-divisions, which it is almost impos-
sible to follow, but, for practical purposes, four are in common
use, the or main body, the khel ot 5^/, representing

both the clan, a group generally occupying a common
locality, and the section, a group whose members live in
close proximity to one another and orobably hold common

51 * and Drobat

SIf B-

Population.

Tribal

constitution.

Afghan

tribe.

CHAPTER I— DESCRIPTIVE,

Population.

Tlie origin
of the
Baloch.

land, and lastly the kahol, a family group united by kinship.
Affiliated with many tribes are to be found a number of alien
groups known as mimiun or hamsdyaJu In such cases the
test of kinship does not apply, and such groups, laoiihes oi
individuals are united to the tribe by common good and com-
mon ill. In other words, common blood-feud is the underly-
ing principle uniting a tribe, but the conception merges into
the fiction of common blood, i.e., connection by kinship.

The Afghans are not organised under a coiiimoii leader,
as is the case with Baloch or Brahui tribes, to whom the
tribal officers, such as mukadamSy ^mderas, etc,, are subordi-
nate, but their democratic spirit chooses a leading man in
each minor group. Heredity is always an important factor
among the Baloch, but with Afghans there is frequent chop-
ping and changing, .the weak giving way before the strong.
Hence, individuality has far greater scope ariiong Afghans
than among other races, but the retention of iniiueiice, once
acquired frequenti}'” depends on exterior support, such as
that of the Government rather than that of the tribesmen
themselves.

The following . account of the origin of the Baioch is
given by Mr. R. Hughes-Buller in the Census Report for
1901 : —

There is ample evidence to show that the nucleus of the
Baloch tribes now to be found in the Indus valley were ori-
ginally settled in Makrdn and Persian Baluchistan to the
south of Kirman. Take, for instance, their names : the
nucleus cf ihe Bugtis traces its origin to Bug in Persian
BaluchisUin ; the Bulddis to tlie Buleda valley in Makran,
near which some of them are still to be found ; the Domkis,
otherwise written Dombki, from the river Dombak in Per-
sian Baluchistan ; the Ldshdri from Ldshar ; the Gislikaiiris
from the Gishkddr, i.e., the Gish stream, which drains the
Buffida valley ; the Kuldchis from Kuldnch, also situated in
Makrdn, and the Magassis from Magas in Persian Baki-
chistdn. Again, there is to be found a strong tribe of Rmds
at M/ind in Makrdn, from whom the Rinds of the Kaclihi
plain are drawn. Elphinstone states in his Flistory that
the Baloch were occupying the mountains of Makran
at the time of the first Arab invasion in 664 A.D., and
Ibn-haukal, who wrote in the tenth centurv* tells us that the

ORIGIN, OF THE BALOCB,

‘Koch and Baloch inhabited the ‘ Irdn Zanin, bordering on
Hind and Sind.’ Like Kochi or Kochai in Pashto and old
Persian, the word Baloch simply means ‘nomads’ or
'^wanderers.’

“ It is previous to their settlement in Persian Baluchistan
and iVlakrdn that the origin of the Baloch is buried in
obscurity, and' that authorities differ, some holding the
story of their Syrian origin to be true, and others alleging
them to be of Turkoman stock. Sir Henry Green, who was
the Political Superintendent of the Upper Sind Frontier,
found tribes bearing the same names as those now common
among the Baloch of the Indus valley in the course of his
travels in Syria. On the other hand, Muhailab, the Arab
invader, encountered eighteen Turki horsemen riding crop-
tailed horses in 664 A.D. at Kaikdn, which lies somewliere
between Kej in Makrdn and Khozdar, a fact which would
indicate that the theoiy of tiie Central Asian origin of the
Baloch is not without foundation in fact. When we consider
the process of afliliation which has gone on, or is going on,
among the Baloch of the present day, it would not be sur-
prising if enquiry were to show that they consisted both of
Arab and Turanian stock.

“The authenticity of the tradition among the Baloch of
the Indus valley, which centres round Jaldl Khdn, generally
called Jaldl Hdn, from whom sprang four sons — Rind, Hot,
Ldshdri, Kordi, and a daughter, Mdi Jato — may well be
doubted, especially as the Hots of Makrdn are universally
credited with being the aboriginal inhabitants of the country
and themselves claim to be a distinct race from the Rinds
and from the various Baloch tribes who inhabit the country
now. It is possible that they are the representatives of the
Oreitdi or Horitdi, who were met with by Alexander in the
course of his progress westward through Makrdn.

The great inhuK of the Baloch from the westward ap-
pears to have taken place during the fourteenth and fifteenth
centuries, as by the sixteenth century there is authentic evi-
dence that they were numerous and were making raids and
forays in all directions,”

111 dealing with the Baloch tribes of the District it will be
convenient to divide them into two groups, namely, those
who are under political control like the Marris, Bugtis,

Population,

CHAPTER I— DESCRIPTIVE.

Population. Dombkis and Kaheris, and those who reside in the adminis-
tered areas. Of the former the Harris and Bugtis are
dealt with separately in Chapter V, and only a brief de-
scription is here necessary. The Dombkis and Kaheris
also belong more properly to Kachhi^ and the details of their
origin and present constitution are given in the Gazetteer of
that District.

Marris, iQOt the Marri Baloch in the whole Province numbered

20>373 (males 11,465, females 8,908), the number of adult
males being 6,898. Of this total 19,161 were in the Marri
I country, and the rest in Kaldt and Las Bela. The tribe is

I divided into three main divisions: Ghazni (8,122), Bijarani

I (4,700) and Lohardni, which clan also includes the Shirdni,

^ originally Afghans (6,369). Their tumanddr or chief is

I Khdti Bahddur Nawdb Khair Bakhsh Khdn, who belongs

!; to the Bahawaldnzai section of the Ghazni clan and lives at

!; Kahdn.

I Bugtis. The Bugti Baloch in 190 1 numbered 15,416 (males 8,608,

I females 6,808), the number of adult males being 5,209. Of

I this number, 15,159 (males 8,480, females 6,679) were

;! enumerated in the Bugti country. The tribe is divided into

seven clans: the Durrag Nothdni (1,778), Khalpar (1,542),
ji Masori (2,928), Mondrdni (510), Pirozdni Nothani (4,731),

|| Rahdja (877) and Shambdni (2,874). The tribal head quarter

;| is Ddra Bugti and the present chief, who belongs to the Bib-

rakzai section of the Raheja clan, is Nawdb Sir Shahbdz
ij Khdn, K.C.I.E.

Ii Dombki. The Dombki, an important Baloch tribe who occupy a

Pi part of the Lahri in Kachhi, numbered 4,905 persons

. (males 2,683, females 2,222), the number of adult males

i being 1,614. Of the total 4,096 were recorded under the

Kaldt State and 809 in the Thal-Cliotidli (now Sibi) District.
The principal clans are the Baghddr (521), Bhand (95),
Brahmdni (549), Dindri (280), Dir Khdni (213), Gabol (51),
Ghdzidri (169), Gishkaiiri (426), Khosa (169), Ldshdri (35),
Mohamddni (314), Mirozai (i49)» Shabkor (386), Singidni
(125), Sohridni (255), Tdidni (349) and Wazirdni (28). The
present chief of the tribe is Mir Chdkar Khdn. The Dombkis
are popularly supposed to have some of the best blood in
theii veins. In the days of General John Jacob, the tribe
was famous for its marauding propensities, the most noted

kahMis.

section in this respect being the Jakrdnis. A few of these Population,
are still found in Nasirdbdd, but the majority have migrated
to Sind. Another large clan of the tribe, the Gishkauris,
were classified as a separate tribe in the Punjab at the last
Census, where it numbered 3,642 persons.

The Kah^ris, who were classed as Baloch in 1901, num- K.ah<Sns.
bered 789: males 421, females 368, They speak Sindi and
occupy the central part of the Lahri nidbat. The tribe is
divided into four clans : the Buldni (70), the Moradfini (208),

Qalandrdni (179) and Tahirdni (306), The following descrip-
tion is given by Mr. Hughes-Buller in the Census Report of
1901 : —

*‘The Kah^ris are also a small tribe, but it is doubtful
whether their classification as Baloch is correct. At any
rate they are described by Mir Masfim of Bhakkar in Sind,
who wrote a history about 1600 A.D., as Saiads, who
acquired their name of Kah^ri from the Kaher or wild medlar
tree, on which one of their ancestors mounted as if it were
a horse. In the earlier part of the last century the Kahdris
were driven out by the Bugtis and migrated to Bahdwalpur,
but they were restored to their former settlements by Sir
Charles Napier in 1845.’' They themselves claim descent
from Shdh Umar Katdl, a compatriot of the Prophet, and
allege that they migrated with the Baloch from Makrdn
under their leader Nidinat Shdh, who purchased the country
from the Kurchfinis, the price paid being a camel load
(chhatar) of money, hence the name Chhatar, the present
headquarters of the tribe. Their headman (1905) is Muham-
mad Baka Khdn,

The total number of the Baloch in the administered areas Baloch
of the District in 1901 was 19,150: males 10,330, females adminis'tered
8,820, representing 28 per cent, of the total rural population, area.

The important tribes are the Rind, BuI6di and Umrdni. Baloch.

The total of Rind was 9,945 (males 5,384 and females The Rind.
4,561). Of these 1,138 were in the Sibi tahsii and
8,So6 in the Nasirdbdd nidhat or tahsii. According to
local tradition the Rinds are the descendants of Rind, one
of the five children of Jaldl Khdn. In the Census Report
of 1901 Mr. Hughes-Buller says that ‘‘it is with the Rinds
that all the Baloch tribes endeavour to trace their con-
nection. They are looked up to with deference by their neigh-

CHAPTER I-^DESCRIPTIVE.

Population;., bours and all Baloch traditions centre round their hero^
Chdkar. Outsiders like the Brdhuis use the term ‘ Rind ^ as
a generic word, equivalent to ^ Baloch.’ After being driven
from Kirmdn, the Rinds lived in Kej and Kolwa, .where they
are still to be found. Thence they migrated into Sind and
are now scattered through that Province and the Punjab.”

The important clans in the District are the Janiali, Khosa
and Umrdni. There are also the Chandias (756) who live
partly in Sibi and partly in Nasirabad ; the GiiMm Bolak
(608) in Sibi and the Ldshdri {796), Leghari (417) and
Mugheri (269) in Nasirabad.

The Jaraiili. The Jamdlis in 1901 numbered 3,088: males 1,673, females
1,415, the number of adult males being 1,022. They are
divided into two main branches {takkars)i Jamaii and Ram-
ddni. The principal sections of the Jamdlis are the Taha-
rdni (also known as Sher Khdnani), Shahallani, Shahalzai,.
Mundrani, Sahridni (originally Khosa), Dhoshli, Zanwrani
(also Khosa), Waswdni, Bhanddni, Babar, 'Fingidni, Manjhi,
Pawars, and Rehanwdlas. The Bdbar (whose headman is
Muhammad Siddiq) and Waswdni (headman Dad Muham-
mad) are the strongest numerically. The Jamdlis now occupy
that part of the Nasirdbdd tahsil which is irrigated by the
Begdri Wdh canal, and their principal villages are Rojhdn,
Dur Muhammad, Rojhdn west, Sameji north and south,
Chauki, Shaho and Sobha. Local tradition asserts that the
Jamdlis came to this country with Mir Chdkar. The chief
or wadera is Khdn Baliddiir Lashkar Klidn, Tahrdni, and the
other leading men are Mirs Khdn Muhammad, Ramddni ;
Mehrdb Khan, Ramddni ; Sobddr Khdn, Tangidni ; and
Muhammad Khdn, Shahibzai (1905). Before the opening of
the Sind canals the tribesmen chiefly led a nomadic life,
living on the produce of their flocks, supplemented by pre-
carious harvests on dry-crop areas.

Khosa. In 1901 the Khosas in the District numbered 3,338 :

males 1,801, females 1,537, the number of adult males being
1,057. They are also found in Sind and in the Punjab.
They claim descent from Hot, one of the five children of Mir
Jaldl Khdn, and according to local tradition the founder of
the tribe was one Koh-sar, whose name has become corrupt-
ed into Khosa. They are also sometimes called 7 nuhdnas
(boatmen) in memory of a certain occasion when some of

UMRANIS,

the clan rowed Mir Chakar across the Indus. The name of Population*
Khosa would, however, appear to have a different origin
and according to Dames '‘the reputation of berng raiders
and robbers, which the Baloch have always borne among*
their neighbours, has earned them many uncomplimentary ■
epithets, which are found among the tribal names, for exam-
ple 'Khosa, which in Sindi means a robber.’'""

The Khosas are divided into three branches : Eialeldni,

Khiiolani and Uiiirdni, the majority of those in Naslrdbdd
belonging to the Khiloldni branch, which is again divided
into ten sections.

I he Baieldiiis Hv^e in the D^ra Ghazi Khdn District; their
chief is Sardar Bahddur Khan, who is also chief of the whole
Khosa tribe.

In Nasirabdd the leading man of the Khilolanis is Mir khiiolani.
Hazdr Khan. The Khilolanis now occupy large areas of land
irrigated by the Shdhi Wdh canal, and their important
villages are : — Manjhipur, Bagar, Bola, Ahmadpur, Doddika
and Shdh Wdh. They also own lands in Mamal, Rojhdn
east, Shaho and Sobha in conjunction with the Janidlis.

In 1901 the numbers of Umrani or Umardni residing in The Umra-
the District numbered 1,098: males 575 and 523 females*

They claim their descent from Umar, brother of Ghazan and
son of Ali, who is believed to have bee 1 one of the sons of
Jaldl Khdn, Mr. M. L. Dames, however, thinks that, like
the Bulddis, they probably joined the Baloch confederacy
after the formation of the five main divisions.

A genealogical table furnished by the present Unirani
headman, Wadera Sher Muhammad, who claims to be
fifteenth in descent from Ali, shows that the tribe is divided
into twelve sections : Tangidni, Balacbdni, Ghandidni,

Malghdni, Palidni, Nodkdni, Jonghdni, Sobhdni, Sethdni,

Buridni, Misridni, and Dildwarzai. All these clans claim a
common descent and derive their names from certain leading
men, the Buridnis, for instance being descended from one
Hasan Khdn, who lost his nose in a fight and was nicknamed
the Buridni. The last seven sections reside and own lands
in Bhdg Ndri, their leading man being Wadera Khuddi

* The Baloch Race, by L. Dames, Asiatic Socieljy Monographs,
No. IV^ (London, 1904).

CHAPTER 1-^DESCRIPTIVE,

Population. Khdn, Dildwarzai. The other sections are spread over the
Upper Sind Frontier District and Nasi'rdbdd, the principal
sections in the latter tract being the Tangidni, Balachdni
and Malghdni.

According to the local tradition the Umranis first occupied
the Manjdthi lands when Mir Chakar went to the Punjab,
and the division into the various sections is said to have
been effected in the time of Fdzal Khdn, tenth in descent
from Ali. Fdzal Khdn’s brothers, Mondar Khdii and
Bhakkar Khdn migrated to Lahar in Hyderabad (Sind) where
their descendants still live. At the same time about 500
men of the Palidni section migrated to Jacobabad. The rest
of the tribesmen remained at Manjiithi in Kachhi until 1900
w^hen they were compelled by drought and famine to migrate
in a body to Nasirdbdd where the majority of them work as
tenants, though some have also acquired land.

The Goias. The number of the Golas, who were shown in the Census
tables of 1901 as a clan of the Buledi tribe, amounted to
5,134 in the district: males 2,772 (including r,66o adults)
and females 2,362. Writing about the groups which form
the Baloch tribes, Mr. R. Hughes-Buller says: — They
consist chiefly of elements w^hich have been affiliated to the
Baloch and have afterwards set up for themselves. As time
passes, their origin is forgotten, and with it any social
inferiority which may have originally existed. An instance
of a group, which has only lately asserted Baloch origin, is to
be found among the Golas of the Nasirdbdd nidbat Though
enumerated with the Baledis they are looked on by other
Baloch as occupying a low place in the social scale.
Common report assigns them a slave origin, and as the
word means slave in Sindi, it is quite possible that the

belief has some foundation in fact.""’'

The Golas are divided into nine sections : the Panddni,
Karmidni, and Satmdni, descendants of Aib Kbdn, and the
Joliini, Jdrdni, Kdshdni, Tdndldni, Rakhidni, Shambdni,
who are descended from Mfisa Khdn. With the latter are
affiliated the Kalidni, Kalwdni, KahgoJa, Dasowani, Chhetta
or Shdr Khdni, and Chunridni sections whose origin is not
known. The tribesmen assert that their progenitors Aib

*' Census of India^ 1901, Vol. V-A,, Chapter VIII, page 133.

CHAJ^ACmR OF THE BALOCB.

Khin and Mdsa Khdn accompanied Mir Chdkar as scouts Population.

or guides who are called go/do in Sindi, and that the present

name of the tribe owes its origin to this source. They

are also known as Mirali, from Mir All, the ancestor of the

Buledis.

The Golas are said to have migrated from Sind, when the
canals were first opened out in Kalat territory and to have
obtained lands on lease from the Khdn. The descendants of
Khair Muhammad and Gola Khan own lands in Deh Gola,
but the majority of the tribesmen work as tenants. Their
headman is Khdn Bahddur Sohbat Khdn, who has recently
built the village of Sohbatpur.

The following statement gives a list of other sections of Other
less importance found in the district : — tribes.

Population in 1901.

^ Locality.

Tribe.

Clan.

Total

Males.

Females.

Dombki

Gishkori

426

224

202 j

Own lands in dry crop

» j

Gurgeb*

228

1 18

:io >
60 ]

areas in the Sibi tahsil.

} j

Hdra

137

Magas si

...

605

257 1

Rind

Chclndia

505

279

226 I

Gaboi

102

44 L

Nasirdbdd tahsil Cchiefly

Llshdri

Leghdri

Mugh<^n

796

417

269

419

240

154

377 i

177 1
115 ^

tenants').

Chdndia

Ghuldra

251

125

126

Chdndia village in Sibi.

Bolak

608

329

279

Own lands and water at
Bhakra in the Sibi tahsil.

The Baloch has the reputation of being a good fighting character
man. He is tali and sparse in appearance, temperate in his
habits and endued with great powers of endurance, being Baloch.
capable of sustaining prolonged fatigue on very poor food.

The face is long and oval and the features aquiline. The
hair is worn long in curls on either side of the face and the
beard and whiskers are allowed to grow untrimmed. Until
comparatively recent years the Baloch looked upon fighting
as their trade and despised agriculture and the arts of peace.

The majority of the tribesmen living in the plains of Nasir-

CHAPTER I~DESCRTPTIVE.

Population, dbad and Sibi have now settled down to cultivate their
lands, but- the wilder tribes such as the Marris and Bugtis
ate still very indifferent about the improvement of their
land, the rugged and waterless nature of which does not
indeed lend itself to cultivation. Those who have settled
down to agriculture are still very rough and ready in their
habits.

On the whole the Baloch are easy to manage and are
geueially well affected. They are a frank, good mannered
people and in the characteristics of truth and honour are
superior to their Afghdn neighbours. To their chiefs they
are docile and obedient though their bearing to others is
proud and independent.

The best characteristics are their fidelity, truthfulness,
hospitality and the treatment of their women, and their
faults, indolence, pride and perhaps oversensitiveness. Theit
tactics in war were never to attempt an attack unless the
enemy could be surprised or was in inferior numbers. They
always fought on foot, and this wms the reason that the
Baloch always rode mares, as a mare was easily tied up and
was not likely to betray her master by whinnying as a horse
would do. The Baloch proverb says “ a man with his saddle
on a mare has his saddle on a horse, a man with his saddle
on a horse has his saddle on his head.” The rule of war
was never to molest women or children, and women
could go out safely when their male relations were in the
midst of war. Boys were considered fair prey as soon as
they assumed the ioga virilis in the shape of a pair of
paijdmas.

Next to the Baloch, the numericaily important race are
the Afghans, which, in 1901, numbered 18,119 : males 9,499,
females 8,620, and represented about 26 per cent, of the

rural population of the district.

The total number of Kdkars in the district in 1901 was
6,820 : males 3,636, females 3,184. They represent 38 per
cent, of the total number of Afghdns and ,i per cent, of the
total rural population of the district. The Kdkars are
Ghurghusht Afgndns, their progenitor Kdkar being a son of
Ddvi and grandson of Ghurghusht, son of Qais Abdul
Rashid. The principal clans in the district are the Sanzar
Khfl (1,609) and Sanatia (s,o 14).

Afghans.

Kdkars.

SAN ATI A CLAN.

, 6i

Of the, totai number of Saiizar Khels the Diimars represent
Males 854 (males 653, females 568), all of a^^liom are

*FemaIes 755 in the Shahrig lahsH and chiefly in the Zarghi'ui
"’Total Other J^dkars regard them as

— . social inferiors on account of their being
descended from a ditm or -musician. The tribe, ' however j
claim that Ddmar was one of the sons of Kakar. The
majority are pastoral, though some of them have recently
taken to agriciiiture. ■ I'lieir headman is Basan Khdn who
holds a Jemaddr’s post in the levies {1905). The Ddniars
man the levy posts at Khost, Nakas and form a portion of
the head quarter levies at Shahrig. They are generally
quiet and well behaved. Writing in 1882 Dr. O. T. Duke
said:— The Di'miars formerly had a' bad reputation as
thieves, but they gave us absolutely no trouble. *

The Diimars of Zarghiin are paid by the officer in charge
of Quetta, and their harmlessness is shown by the fact that
although my District encloses them on three sides, I have
not had a single case against them during the past 18
months.”

In I go I the total number of the Sanatia Kdkars in the
District was 5,014 (males 2,674, females 2,340), of whom
4,967 were found in the Kach-Kowds and Shdhrig circles
of the Shdhrig tah>il and 47 in Sibi. Pane, the progenitor
of the Pandzais, was fourth in descent from Sanatia, while
Sdrang from whom the vSarangzais derive their name was
third in descent. The numner of the Pdnezais and Sdrangzais
was 1,315 respectively in 1901. Their unsettled

condition at tlie time of the Afghdn war, the murder of
Captain Showers (iSSoj, their attacks on Fuller’s Camp and
Sir Robert Sandeman’s escort and their subsequent attempt
against the f. rt at Kach have already been de-cribed in the
section on History. Of late years they have given no
trouble and their general behaviour has been excellent.
The majority of them still retain the primitive characteristics
of a remote hill tribe. The chief occupatiim of the Pdnezais
is agriculture, but a large number of the Sdrangzais are
pastoral. The headman of the former is Wahdb Khdn and
of the latter ITalim Khdn.

The Pannis or Panris were originally a nomad tribe of the
Ghurghusht Afghdns. The Sdfls, a branch of the tribe,

Population.

Sanatia

clan.

Pannis or
Panris.

62 CHAPTER ^--DESCRIPTIVE.

Population, are still found in considerable numbers near Ghazni, and
another large section, now known as the Gaduns, reside
in the Peshdwar District to the east of the YLisufzai country.
The branch with which this District is concerned appears
to have wandered from the west to the Sulaimdn hills and
from thence to have spread gradually to the south. The
Mfisakh^ls and Isots of the Loralai District are Pannis,
and another section found their way into Sdiigdii from the
BoMn Pass and gradually acquired Bddra, Quat-Mandai and
Sibi. Eventually they got possession of, or were perhaps
nominated by, the rulers of Kandahdr to administer Bdrkhdn
and the lands now held by the Marris. The descendants of
the Panris are also found in Southern India where from time
to time they have made a considerable figure in Indian
history. Prior to the downfall of the house of Bdbar,
one of the celebrated free lances of the period was Ddiid
Khdn, a Panni, who was remarkable for his generosity
and liberality which have passed into the proverb Bam
ta ha 7 ii ftahin ta Ddild Khan PanniC that is to say if the
worst comes to the worst, there is still Daiid Khan to
fall back upon.

According to a native^ account, the local history of the
Sibi branch dates from about 1470 when Bara Khdn, the
founder of the Bdnizais, ingratiated himself with the Mizri
Kdkars who were then in possession of Dddhar and married
the daughter of the chief. On the decay of the Arghdn
rule, the Pannis increased in power and importance, and
about 1570--1575 are found as being in possession of the Sibi
fort and district. As already related in the section on
History three expeditions were undertaken by the Mtighals
against them. The tribe is spoken of as having fought
biavely and it seems to have retained its importance, as in
1695 Sibi and its dependencies were held by one Mirza
Khdn, a Bdrdzai, who had received the title of Nawdb from
the ruler of Delhi and also administered the affairs of Upper
Sind. He was succeeded by his son Bakhtidr Khdn wvho
was killed in a collision with the Imperial troops in 1702.
His successor Ismdil Khdn I is locally credited with having

Tazkir^ul-Bdr, or an account of the BArdzals by Mulhl Mahmiid
Jaskdni Baloch (1300 H.).

PANNIS.

built the town of Dera Ismdil KhAn ; he was succeeded by
Isa Kh 4 n, who was followed by Ismdil Khdn II who
accompanied Nddir Shdh to Delhi and later on built the
fort at Sdngdn. The Bdrfizais of Sibi appear to have
become separated from the SAngAn branch at this period,
and during the reign of Ahmad Shah, Durrdni, Muhammad
Khdn, who had gone to Kdbul to complain of Ismful Khdn,
was granted a warrant dated 1759 in which Ahmad Shdh
entrusted the Government ofthe Sibi District and the Bdrkhdn,
Khetrdn and Hasni dependencies jointly to both claimants.
Muhammad Khdn was killed by the Khajaks, a branch ofthe
tribe virho had greatly increased in strength and importance,
and his successor Habib Khdn, who was also ultimately
slain by the Khajaks, was obliged to abandon Sibi and retire
to Kurk. The Khajaks had now become the most powerful
section, and their importance is shown by the common Sibi
proverb which says that, ‘‘though the Kdkars may coquet
in the hills, the Khajaks lord it in the plains.” At the out-
break of the Afghan war in 1839, nominal chief of the
tribe was Shakar Khdn, but the real power was in the hands
of Misri Khdn, who tendered his services to Shdh Shuja and
was taken into British pay. In 1841, as already described
in the section on History, the town of Khajak was occupied
by British troops and dismantled. The power of the
Khajaks was thus weakened, and shortly afterwards the
Marris acquired a footing in the Sibi District. They dis-
possessed the Pannis of Bddra and Quat-Mandai and over-
ran Sdngdn. Shakar Khdn was succeeded by his son Doda
Khdn, but he was a weak chief and after Misri Khdn’s death
the management of the tribe passed successively into the
hands of Bakhtidr Khdn and Slier Zamdn Khdn, the latter
of whom was killed while endeavouring to stop a fight
between the Brdhuis and the Marghazdni section of the
Pannis. After Doda Khdn’s death. the chieftainship of the
tribe devolved on his eldest son Muhammad Khdn after
being unsuccessfully claimed by Sarbuland Khdn, the son of
Misri Khdn. Muhammad Khdn is still alive (1905), but
owing to his great age and infirmities has resigned the
Sarddrship in favour of his eldest son Mir Mustafa Khdn.
The leading men in the tribe are Mir Sarbuland Khdn, Mfr
Tdj Muhammad, the head of the Bdrfizais of Sdngdn,

Population.

Populationt.

The Tar ins.

Spin Tan'n.

CHAPTER I—DESCRIPTIVE.

IsmAil Khan, Khajak, and Walhdri KhAn, MarghazAni

(‘905)- . . , . V- ^

fn 1901, the number of Panins in the district was 3,050 :
males 1,871, females 1,785. They are divided into nine-
teen sections : ilbdullaKhei, All Khel, Baghim, Barazai,
Davi, Dehpal, Janti, Khajak, Kurk, Ladn, Liini, Margha-
zdni, Mizri, Mfisa Khel, Naiidhani, Pirani, Safi, Sodi and
Usmani.

The great majority of the tribe are agricidturists.

The Tanns are Saraban Afghdns, the descendants of
Tarfn, son of Sharaf-ud-din, son of Ibrahim, son of Qais
Abdul Rashid, According to the' tradition Tarln had four
sons Spin Tariii, Tor Tarln, 'Zhar 1. anii anJ Bor Tarin.
The term AHdal,” however, gradually superseded that of
‘ Bor Tarin ’ and came into special prominence when
Ahmad Shah Abdcili, commonly known as ihe Durrani,
began his career of conquest. It is still used, though
sparingly, and the Achakzais are usual ?y localised by that
name and regarded as a separate political unit. The same
is the case with Tor or Spin Tarins, wh.o, so far as common
o-ood and ill is concerned, have no connection with the
Achakzais or with one another.

In 190 T, the total number of Tarins in tlie district was
6,468: males 3,351 (including 2,027 adults) and 3,117
females. The local distribution of the tribe was j 6 in Sibi,
49 in Nasirdbdd and 6,40^1 in the Shdhng tahsll. Of these
1,864 (males 978, females 886) %vere Spin Tarins and 4,547
(males 2,338, females 2.209) Tor Tarins, the nuiiiber of Bor
Tarins or x\bddls being only 51.

The Spin Tarins, all of whom are found in the Haniai
and Kach-Kowds valleys of the Shdhrig tahsll, include 17S
Raisdnis, 1,248 Wanechis (males 666, females 582) and 438
* unspecified.’ The Wanechis migrated irom Pishfn and
settled in the neighbourhood of Bdbihdn which, according
to tradition, was obtained from the Khamis in exchange for a.
filly, [bihdnr,) which is supposed to be tue origin of the name.
They are divided into two clans, the Zarag vals (or iowland-
ers) and the Khurdsdnis (or highlanders), the former belonging
mainly to the Sanjdwi tahsll of the Loral ai District. The
Zaragwals are divided into two main sect!, ns called the
Daulatzais and Bihamddnis. Two sub-sections of the latter,

TARINS.

the Hadidnis and Tihanris are looked upon as fakirs ^.nd Population.
receive certain fees (ihtik) from the other Wan^chis.

During the early days of British occupation, Ismdil, the
headman of the Wandchis, gave some trouble, but both he
and his people surrendered in the autumn of j88i and under-
took the responsibility of guarding the Gan^ji (Spintangi),

Kuridk (Melmazai) and Tiri entrances into the Zawar valley.

The majority of the tribe are pastoral and they are a quiet
and well behaved people, superior in both character and
physique to the other inhabitants of the valley.

The chief of the Wandchis is Khdn Sdhib Nawdb Khdn
who lives in the Sanjdwi tahsil, and the leading men at
Bdbihdn are Misri Khdn, Zakridzai, and Zalla Khdn,

Daltdni, both of whom receive small allowances from the
Levy service.

In igoi the number of Tor Tarins in the district was Tor TaHn.
4,547: males 2,338 (including 1,408 adults) and females
2,209, almost all of whom are in the Harnai and Shdhrig
circles of the Shdhrig tahsil. The most important section
of the Tor Tarins in the district is the Makhidni* who are
divided into five sub-sections : Abduldni,

Aspdnij Khaniis, Khidrdni and Sheikh.

— The Makhidni tribe as now constituted is

Total ... 4>535 formed of an admixture of alien groups
who have become affiliated from time to
time. Thus among the Khamis are to be found Mashwdni
Saiads, Sheikh Zari, and Ydsinzai Kdkars ; and among the
Khidrdni are groups which were originally Zarki'in like the
Kanindni and Sanzar Khel Kdkars like the Malazai.

According to Dr. O. T. Duke “the Tdrin Pathdns claim
that their ancestors captured Harnai directly from the
Hindus, whom they drove out about 600 or 700 years ago.

The first Tarins who appeared in Zawar are stated to have
belonged to the Khamis and Makhidni sections. The
Tarins were at that time nomads. After expelling the
Zamlns they divided their lands ; the Makhianis took
Ghurmi as their share and the remainder of the valley fell
to the Khamis'^ ^ ^ ^ -i*.

After five generations, Sheikh Mdsa, a Jaldli Saiad from
Uch in Bahdwalpur, passed through the valley on his way
to Bukhdra and was persuaded by the people to stop

Males 2,333
Females 2,202

66 CHAPTER DESCRIPTIVE,

Population, permanently. He consented and married a Makhiiiii woman,
by whom he had two sons, Zabbar Khdn and Mubdrik,
whose descendants are still scattered over the valley. The
Saiad espoused the cause of the Makhidnis, who from the
smallness of their numbers were liable to oppression at the
hands of the Khamis. A rupture between the two tribes was
brought about by an insult which the Khamis offered to a
Makhidni minstrel woman whom they stripped and degraded.
The Makhidnis believe that under the supernatural influence
of the saint, their forefathers, though few In numbers and
armed mostly with dwarf palm twigs, were able to take a
sanguinary revenge for the wrongs which they had suffered,
while the Khamis were still further weakened by the ravages
of cholera. Those that had escaped the sword and plague
formed a weak remnant, which was reconciled to the
Makhidnis by the intercession of the saint whose enmity
they had provoked. Zawar was now re-divided and only
one share in Khost fell to the Khamis, the rest going to the
Makhidnis. The Makhidnis were too few in numbers for the
effectual tilling of the Zawar lands, and they, therefore,
invited outsiders to reside with them, to whom they gave
lands free ; many, too, of the lands have been bought and
sold, so that the original division has been lost sight of in
continual changes. ”

* ‘‘Physically” says Dr. Duke, “the Zawar people are

inferior in every way to the hill Pathdns, their occupation as
rice cultivators and the constant necessity for working in
water during the flood seasons whilst repairing their
embankments weakens their loins ; at any rate they have the
reputation of being very inferior husbands, and the small
number of children in the Zawar valley fully justifies this
assertion.”

The chief occupation of the Makhidnis is agriculture, and
their leading men are Malik Shdpo, Sheikh Rahlmddd
Aspdni, and Sulaimdn, Abduldni.

Zarkiins. In 1901, the Zarkdns of the Kohlu valley numbered 751 :

males 396, females 355. “ They claim connection with the

Panris, but their origin is doubtful. Owing to the raids to

'' Census of India iigoi)iYo\, V-A, Chapter VIII, page 94.
f This point is doubtful. The expulsion of the Hasnis from Phild*
nr is also claimed by the Bug'tis.

which the tribe was constantly exposed through its proxi- Popolahon.
mity to the Baloch, it is probable that the nucleus of the
tribe imitated the latter’s example, and affiliated to itself a
number of alien elements.^” The tribe is divided into
three clans : Ghunji, numerically the strongest (373;, the
Pirozai, the smallest (24) and Shardwani (354), whose name
would appear to indicate that the nucleus of this clan con-
sisted of Afghdns of the Saraban division, a word easily con-
verted by an Afghdn into Shdrdwan.”

xAccording to Dr, O. T. Duke, the Zarkfins, who are
stated to have originally belonged to the Mifisakhdl tribe,
occupied some 300 years ago, Kohlu, Maniand, Gamboli and
the neighbouring hills under their Sarddr Fi'roz Khin. The
Hasnis, who were expelled from Phildwar f by the Marris
about 100 years ago tried unsuccessfully to take Kohlu from
the Zarkfins. ” In January 1876 the Masori Bugtis attacked
and looted the Zarkfms who pursued the party and killed 14
of them, A few months afterwards another body of Bugtis,
which came to revenge the death of their comrades, was
attacked by the Zarki'ins, and its leader Haidar Khdn was
killed with 28 others. The Marris fomented the strife and
gave passage through their country to a force, consisting of
nearly all the Bugtis led b}^ their chiefs, the Zarkfins were
outnumbered, the Kohlu valley was sacked, 70 Zarkfins and
27 Bugtis were killed. The Marris, who had previously
acquired Gamboli and Mamand from the Zarkdns, invited
them to return to Kohlu and the Marri Chief Ghazan offered
them an offensive and defensive alliance against the Bugtis.

The Zarkfins returned to Kohlu and Ghazan died soon after-
wards. In July 1878 the Zarkfuis, few and weak, yielded to
the Marris, who took three-fourths of the valley themselves and
left a fourth to the Zarkfins, Mehrulia Khdn, the Marri
Sarddr, taking Gulu Gozu as his panjuk {c\\iqVs share).” In
1891 owing to the continued encroachments of the Marris, the
Zarkfms were taken under British protection and in 1892
a sub-tahsil established in the valley. The chief occupation
of the Zarkdns is agriculture and the headman is Ddda
Khdn, Shdrdwani, who receives a monthly allowance of

ZARKiyNS.

CHAPTER I^DESCRIPTIVE,

Population.

Brfihuis.

KhetrAns.

Saiads

T«irans.

Maudildi

Chishti.

Rs. 45 as a Jemaddr of Levies and a special annua! allow-
ance of loo maunds of grain and 50 maunds of bhtlsa (1905).
The head of the tihunji clan is Samand Khdn.

In igoi the Brdhuis numbered 3,732 ; males 2,059, females
1,673, of which 1,767 were in the Sibi, and 1,965 in the
Nasirdbdd tahsil. The principal tribes represented were the
Bangulzais {1,261), Ldngav (383), Mdngal (824), Lahri (201),
Pindrdni (465), Raisdni (i68), Shahwdiii (118), and Zehri
(173) with a few Kdrds, Muhammad Hasiiis and Nichdris.

The majority of these Brdhuis are nomads and visit the
District in the winter months only. A number of the
Bijdrzais, a section of the BanguJzais, live permanently at
Kurk and are camel owners, and the Guhrdmzais (Bangulzais)
have acquired lands in Raza, Kaisar and Mai. Several
Brdhuis have also settled down in Nasirdbad as tenants on
the lands irrigated by the Desert Canal.

This tribe belongs to the Bdrkhdn tahsil in the Loralai
District, but a small number — 958 (males 519, females 439) —
are now permanently settled in the Kohlu (145) and Sibi
(813) tahsils. The Hasni Section of the Dharacian are prin-
cipally found in the Sibi tahsil, while in Kohlu the families
belong to the Ispdni clan. They are chiefly agriculturists, and
those in th ^ Sibi tahsil are affiliated with the Panris, with
whom they intermarry and whose social customs they follow.

In 1901 the Saiads in the District numbered 1,556: males
828, females 728 ; of these 273 were in Sibi, 1,053 Shahrig,
224 in Nasirdbdd and 6 in the Kohlu tahsil. The principal
groups represented are the Tdran {361), Maudddi (259),
Ahmaddnai (181), Pdchi (142), Bukhdri (71), Kddidn (157),
Gildni (50), Khondi (31), and Kharshin or Gharshin (30),
while 272 were undistinguished and classed as unspecified. ’’

The Tdrans claim to be descended from Abu Tdhir, a
Salad who came from Bukhdra and settled in Khost, but
eventually leaving his family returned to Bukhdra where he
died and where his tomb is still shown. They reside in the
western and northern parts of the Shdhrig tahsil, where they
own lands which they eultivate themselves. Their leading
men are Rahmatulla, Mullds Bakhtidr, Hamid. Muklm,
Lutfulla, Abdul Ghafdr and Saiad Ldl Muhammad (1905).

The Maudddi Chishti Saiads are the descendants of
Khwdja Mauddd who was born in 1039 A.D. and died in

SAIADS.

i[ 33’A. D. at Cliisht, a suburb of Herdt. Khwdja Muin-ud-
dln, who flourished in the twelfth century and whose
shrine is in Ajmdr, was a Chishti. In 1901, there were 165
Maudfidi Salads in Sibl and 94 in the Shdhrig tahsil. In
the former tahsii they chiefly subsist on charity and are
given a fixed contribution of grain at each harvest ; those in
Shdhrig own lands in Shor Shahr, Kdsim Kill, Raghni and
Ndsik which thev cultivate themselves. Their leading men
in Sibi are Mahmdd Shdh, Bakhtidr Junian Shdh, Khair
Shdh and Gharib Shdh, and in Shdhrig, Akram Shdh and
Jahdn Shah (1905).

The Ahmaddnai Saiads take their name from Saiad
Ahmad, a descendant of Saiad Dur Jaldl Bukhdri, who came
to the Kdkar country eighteen generations ago during the
time of the Mughals. He married the daughter of the
governor of the place and founded the village of Ahmadi'in
where his descendants still reside. They are peasant
proprietors, and their leading men are Mulhls Umdd,
Kuddiis, Sheikh Rakam and Abdul Naim. They are
affiliated with the Kdkars with whom they intermarry and
whose social customs they observe.

The Pdchi Saiads claim their descent from Saiad Daldl
and their head-quarters are in Pdi valley in the Sanjdwi tah-
sii. A few of them are found in the eastern and western
parts of the Shdhrig tahsil where they own small portions of
lands. Their leading man is Mulld Ydhya (1905).

The founder of the Kddidn or Kdzidn family of the Saiads
was Ismdil whose tomb is at Khost. They own lands in
Khost, Ambo and Gachina and their leading men are Kamdl
Shdh and Mulld Bardt.

A few Bukhdri Saiads are found in both the Sibi and Shdh-
rig tahsils. In the latter they are known as the Jaldli after
their ancestor Saiad Jaldl, one of the four Saiad brothers
who came to Pisliin from Bukhdra in the fourteenth century.
Their principal settlement is at Midn Kach which was found-
ed by one Bare, so cafled from his being a dweller of the
baro or desert, who came from Uch some two hundred and
fifty years ago. He was held in great veneration by the Tarins
and became known as the Mian Sdhib and his place of resi-
dence as Midn Kach, This graduafly became ‘‘city of re-
fuge ” and was upheld as such by the neighbouring tribes

Population,

Ahniadunai

Saiads.

?<ichl

Bukhdri

Saiads.

CHAPTER /-DESCRIPTIVE,

PoPULATioNi, , who apparently recog'iiised the common necessity for an in-
stitution of this kind. During the early days of the occupa-
tion of Harnai and especially at the time of construction of
the railway, the settlement, which had become the resort of
all the bad characters in the neighbourhood, gave much
trouble. The leading Saiad Mir Afzal Shdh was imprisoned
and his village was burnt by General McGregor’s force when
on its way to the Marri country. Saiad Afzal Shfih still
survives (1905) and holds his lands rent-free. He has consi-
derable local influence and especially among the Marris, who
used to g*ive him a share of the loot obtained during their
expeditions. The leading man among the Bukhdri Salads
in the Sibi tahsil is Fakir Shdh, who owns lands at Kurk
and Mizri and is also paid a fixed contribution of grain by
the Kurks at each harvest.

Other The Gildni Saiads own lands at Sdfi Abdul Wahab in the

vSaiads tahsil, and are given tithes by the Marghazdnis. Their

leading man is Nfir Din Shdh. The Khondis live at Khajak
and subsist mainly on alms and charity. The Kharshin or
Gharshin are agriculturists and own land at Kurk in the Sibi
tahsil, and at Dirgi, Ambo and Shdhrig in the Shdhrig tahsil.
Their headmen are Murdd Shdh of Kurk, and Mulld Sabzal.
The Saiads of Nasirdbdd (224) are scattered throughout the
different villages and are supported by alms and charity.

The Jats, The nucleus of the race would seem to be one of the most
ancient stocks in the province, and it is probable that some
of them are the descendants of the original Hindu inhabitants
who were converted to Isldm at the time of the Muham-
madan conquests. But the Jats, as recorded in the Census
of 1901, may be said to represent a congeries either of
Muhammadans, who are not Afghdns, Baloch or Brdhuis or
Saiads or of representatives of those races who have
fallen in the social scale and lost their nationality. Thus it
is found that Ardins and Gujars, who constitute separate
castes in the neighbouring provinces, many Loris, who are
gypsies, and a number of other races are classed under the
generic term of Jat. The admixture is due to artificial as
well as to natural causes, as an examination of the figures
shows that there was undoubtedly a tendency to include as
Jats all those whose origin was doubtful or about
whom nothing particular was known. Hence the term

JATS.

came to be used in some cases as equivalent to Population.

others and unspecified.” Mr. Hughes-Buller has
explained in the Census Report of igoi that a distinction
exists among the Jats themselves. The camelmen and
graziers among the Baloch are shown as a Jat clan within
the tribe of the same name, but their name is pronounced
with a soft ‘ t ’ (Persian cis) as opposed to the hard ‘ t ’

These camelmen speak a different language to other Jats,
and many of their custoriis vary, but it has not been ascertained
whether there is any real ethnical distinction.

As to the origin of the Jats Mr. Hughes-Buller says : “ It
is curious to note, in connection with the theory of their Cen-
tral Asian origin, that they still retain traces of the custom of
marriage by capture as it is in vogue in Central Asia, the
bride being carried on a bullock or horse behind the bride-
groom and married at the latter’s house.”

The tribesmen look upon the Jats as their social inferiors
and this position is generally accepted by the Jats them-
selves. Baloch men may marry Jat women, but do not give
their women in marriage to the Jats. Some of the tribes
are of fine physique and the women of the camelmen are
renowned for their beauty. The general level of intelligence
is low, but on the whole the Jat is a good cultivator, and
is less extravagant than his Baloch neighbour.

In the Census of 1901 the total number of Jats in the
district was 17,136 *. males 9,269, females 7>S67 j which
represented about 25 percent, of the total rural population.

They were distributed over Sibi ( 4>7^2 ) and Nasirabdd
(12,351), and include 30 different clans or groups, the most
numerous being the Abras 9,348 (males 5>o75> females 4,273),
of whom 1,947 were in the Sibi, 7,4^*^ Nasirdbdd and i

in the Kohlu tahsil. They were again divided into 34 sections
which included 266 Gola, 4^8 Hdmbi, 49^ Mdchhi, and 119
Sumra in Sibi ; and 334 Bhatti, 332 Burra, 681 Mdchhi and 368
Sumra in Naslrdbdd. In the latter tahsil 4,9^3 ^^ras were
classed as unspecified.”

Among other important clans may be mentioned 953
Bhangar (in Nasirdbdd), 327 Chdchar (125 in Sibi^ and 202
in Nasirdbdd), 2,402 Jat or camel breeders {1,911 in Nasir-
dbdd and 491 in Sibi), 591 Katpdr, 285 Lori (all in Sibi),

225 Pdchua, 325 Sheikh, 116 Kori or weavers, and 58

CHAPTER I--HESCRIPTIVE.

Population.

Hindus®

Religion.

Isldm.

Niindris or manufacturers of earth salt.

The majority of the Jats work as tenants, a few have acquir-
ed land in Sibi and Nasirdbdd, while others are engaged in
menial occupations. The headman of the Abras Is Himat All
who lives at Shikdrpur, and the leading man in Sibi is
Malik Kddar Bakhsh. The Jat soft t are

chiefly camel breeders, but since the opening of the railway
many of them have taken to agriculture.

In the Census of 1901 the total number of HindLis in the
administered area of the district was 6,569 and in the Marri
and Bugti country 412. The former figure includes the alien
Hindus residing at Sibi and in the bazars along the railway
line ; but both in Sibi and Nasirdbdd there is a considerable
number of domiciled Hindus who are scattered throughout
the country. Most of these belong to the Arora caste with
a complement of Brahmins and fakirs of various persuasions.
Their religion is an admixture of Sikhism and idol worship,
but they are lax in their observances and drink out of a
skin and use the same vessels as Muhammadans, Some of
them also observe the Muhammadan fasts. It has, however,
been observed that they have become much stricter since
they came in contact with their brethren from India. Whilst
subject to the Muhammadans they were not allowed to wear
turbans or to ride anything but donkeys. This custom still
prevails to great extent and a local Hindu is easily distin-
guishable by his red skull cap and dhoH (loin cloth).

They are chiefly engaged in trade, and are also the finan-
ciers of the tribesmen among whom they live. As a rule
they are well treated, and many have acquired lands in Sibi
and Nasirdbdd.

Of the total population of 73,893 censused in 1901, includ-
ing natives of India, 66,807 or 90 per cent, were Muhamma-
dans, 6,569 or 9 per cent. Hindus ; 98 European and
Eurasian Christians, 24 native Christians, 377 Sikhs, 14
Parsis and 4 Jews. In the Marri and Bugti country out of a
total of 38,919, only 412 were Hindus.

The Muhammadans of the district belong to the Sunni
sect. The Saiads and mullds alone know a little about the
forms of their religion. The Afghans and tribesmen in the
plains are generally devout in performing their prayers at
the stated times, in keeping the fasts, and in setting apart a

ISLAM.

portion of their income for mkdt^ but in other respects gross
superstition takes the place of religion, and there is a
genera! belief in the intervention of ancestors and saints in

the pursuits of daily life. Saints are invoked to cure
diseases, to avert calamities, to bring rain, and to bless the
childless with offspring. Saiads and inullds also play an
important part, and their amulets, charms and blessings
are constantly invoked. Some of them are credited with the
power of bringhig rain, of curing disease, of granting
children, of averting rust and locusts from the crops and of
exorcising evil spirits. A list of the most influential mullds
is given in table III, Volume B.

The following remarks were made by Mr. R. ]. Bruce in
1870 in connection with the hill Baloch : — “They are
nominally Muhammadans of the Sunni sect, but are
particularly lax in their religious observances, and pay little
attention to fixed times of prayer, pilgrimages, alms, tithes,
fasts, etc., which orthodox Musalmdns set such value on. A
Baloch on being asked why he was not keeping the Ramzdn
fast, naively replied that there was no necessity for his
doing so, as his chief was keeping it for him. As might be
expected from their lax form of religion, they are not at all
bigoted. They are superstitious and believe in omens,
such as particular days, particular stars, flights of birds, etc.,
also in charms midjins and tell the most ridiculous stories
about the latter, which they firmly believe to be true.'^' ”

This is still true in the main, but it would appear that the
more travelled Baloch who have come in contact with other
Muhammadans are becoming stricter in their observances
and especially as regards the Ramzdn.

A common superstition is that if any one calls to a tribes-
man as he is starting on a journey, he must sit down before
going farther. If immediately after starting a hare crosses
his path, he must return home and start again. Among the
Makhidnis blood drawn from the ear of a cat is considered
an efficacious remedy for snake bites. Before starting on a
raid the Wandchis were accustomed to pass under a sheet
held up by two of their sacred class (Tehdnris) or two of
their elders ; and this was considered to render them proof

Population.

Notes on the Ddra Ghdsi Khan District and its border tribes^
by R. J. Bruce (Lahore, 1871).

CHAPTER /--DESCRIPTIVE.

Population, against the bullets of their enemies, though not against
their swords. The same ceremony is observed in times of
cholera. A Panni will not start on a journey on a Friday
and a Bdrdzai will not eat the flesh of an ewe. A Jamdli
will not cut a kandi tree which is dedicated to a saint ; will not
face his house to the west, and will not travel to the east on
the ist and 2nd days ofthe month, to the south on the 3rd
and 4th, to the west on the 5th and 6th, and to the iiortn
on the 7th and 8th. It is considered impropitious to bury
the dead on the 9th day, and a horse may not be broken in
or a house roofed on the loth. If a death occurs during'
the panckak, i.e., the first and last five days of a month, it is
believed that it will be followed by five more deaths in the
same family, unless the calamity is averted by driving; an
iron nail through the right side of the body or burying an
effigy made of cloth.

There is a general belief in evil spirits and their powers of
theft, and the grain on the threshing floor is encircled by a
line drawn with a sword, and a copy of the Kordn is placed
over it until it can be measured for division, for fear lest
evil spirits should interfere.

Occupation. Occupations were only recorded in detail in 1901 in the
areas censused on the standard schedule, the population of
which (in the old Thal-Chotiali district) was 8,471 or about
9 per cent, of the total population of the district. Of these
r,397 males and 1 13 females were recorded as actual workers,
339 agriculturists and 2,961 as dependants. Of the 5,397
(males) actual workers, 671 came under the head of ‘‘ ad-
ministration,” 84 under ‘defence,’’ 239 under agriculture,”
571 under ‘‘personal household and sanitary services,”
1,409 under “ various trades and professions,” 1,449 under
“ transport,” which included 1,306 men on the railwayi
and 462 under “earth work and labour.”

Outside the towns and bazars, the family system of
enumeration was followed, the occupation of the head of the
family being assumed to be that of the remainder. The
population of the administered areas in this case may be
loughly divided Into six classes by occupation land-
owners, cultivators, flockowners, traders, labourers and
artisans. The landowners are the most numerous class,
and the other classes are recruited from among* them.

SOCIAL LIFE.

They include the principal tribes of the district, viz., the
Kdkars, Tarins, Saiads, Panni and Zarkdn Afghans, Jamdli
and Khosa Baloch and Jats. Most of these cultivate their
lands themselves, except the Bdrdzai Pannis, some of the
Saiads and the wealthier Baloch m?ninddfs oi Nasirdbdd,
who employ tenants. In the plains the tenants are the Jats
and Brdhuis. The flockowners are chiefly the Husain
Khdnzai and Sarpr^karae sections of the Pdnezais, almost all
the Sarang'zais and Dfimars, and a few Makhidoi and
Wanechi Tarins of Shdhrig, the Marris of Kohlu and
Quat-Mandai, and the Jat camelmen. The labourers are
chiefly to be found among the Kdkars, Jats, Golas and
Brdhui nomads. The artisans indigenous to the country
are the blacksmith, carpenter, weaver, leather workers and
niindri or salt manufacturers, all of whom are classified
under the term ‘Jat.’

Social or class distinctions are little observed among
Afghans as a rule, though there are a few families, such as
the Banizai among the Panni of Sibi, the Torzai among the
Makhidni, and some of the Saiads, who for various reasons
claim a superior social status to that of their fellows.
This superiority among the Bdrdzais and Saiads is exempli-
fied by their giving their daughter in marriage to selected
individuals only ; but among the rest, social position is on
a uniform level, and even the title of a malik confers little
distinction, and the holder of the title is treated as an equal
by the villagers. In the absence of a Saiad or mzd/d
precedence in an Afghdn assembly is generally given to the
oldest.

“ Among the Baloch social precedence takes a more de-
finite form than among the Afghans. The tribes taking their
names from the five children of JaMI Khdn, Rind, Hot,
Ldshdr, Korai and Mai Jato are lookedon as socially superior
to the rest, and as Mir Chdkar, the hero of all Baloch le-
gends, was a Rind, the Rinds are the most respected of our
Baloch tribes. The Baloch are popular as a race, and the
result is that Jats and others, who are not of pure Baloch
origin, often term themselves Baloch, with the hope that some
day they may be looked upon as true members of the race.

“ In a Baloch tribe the particular group to which the chief
or tumanddr belongs, forms a small bureaucracy which takes

POPULATIO>J.

Social life.

CHAPTER I-DESCRIPTIVE

* Ce?tsus ofindiay 1901, Vol. V.-A,
t Census of Indiay 1901, Vol. V,-A.

P0Pt,t.«i0N. special precedence in the tribe. The Bahdwaldnzai among

the Marris, the Rah^jas among the Bugns, and the Shei
Khdndni among the Jamdlis are instances in point. So

great is the veneration of a Baloch tribesman for his^ chief
that when an oath is required of him, instead of sweating by
the Kordn, he will swear by the head or beard of his chief.

iy ^ ^ Qv^^ing to the semi-military constitution of the

Baloch tribes, individual precedence is also easily recognisa-
ble. At the head of all we have the chief or tiimanddr,

whose pre-eminent position no one wool i dare to dispute.
Each tribe is again sub-divided into a small number of main

groups called or clans, at the head of which is to be

found a wiihcidcini. Each tctkhciT or clan is divided into a
number oiphallis or sections, at the head of which is a wadera,
and a mukadani. Each section is again sub-divided into sub-
sections, at the head of which is a rmtabar^ Within<the tribe
the head of each sub-division takes precedence in the order
of his sub-division.*''’'”

The Jats have already been mentioned as occupying an
inferior position, and in the lowest grade are to be found
certain subject races consisting chiefly of occupational
groups and grpsies. These, however, are invariably includ-
ed by the tribesmen under the generic term of Jat.

Before the arrival of the British the Hindus merely
resided among the tribes on sufferance in their capacity as
useful agents for carrying on the small import and export
trade which existed in former days

Their position was extremely degraded and may best be
gauged by the fact that among Baloch, Brdhuis and Afghans,
there was an unwritten rule that in the course of raids and
counter raids, women, children and Hindus were to be
spared.”!

A strictly Baloch custom is that by which any Baloch
travelling is asked by those whom he may chance to meet
for the news, commonly called hdl by the Baloch themselves.
hdl means the latest intelligence, which the traveller

C0‘0PERAT10N,

is bound to communicate forthwith. The interrogator in
his turn reports the news he has gained to the first person
he meets, and thus all sorts of intelligence are quickly
spread amongst the Baloch. The custom is not confined to
travellers, but when men of position meet, the hdl must be
given and received, in strict order of precedence. The
enquiries are profuse and cover a wide range, but a reference
should never be made to a wife or other female relatives.

When addressing a chief, the term •mdjha sdin^ dhani (lord)
are used, while for persons of sanctity the terms are pit
sdhibi shah sdhib or mulld sahib.

With the Baloch hospitality is a sacred duty and may also
be considered a part of his religion. A tribesman’s door is
open to all comers, and an enemy even may not come to his
house without being supplied with the best the host can
offer. Every Baloch, when attending his tumanddr^ is
entertained at hi^ tiimanddr's expense ; and when going on a
journey he does not burden himself with carrying food but
trusts to the hospitality of his neighbours.

Among the Afghans hospitality is not so profuse as in the
case of the Baloch and the custom is limited to relatives and
friends, who are entertained according to their position. In
every Zarki'in village there is, however, a darbdn whose
special duty it is to look after the guests who are entertained on
the common expense of the villagers. The jdglrddrs

of Kurk and Sdngdn, the Saiads of Midn Kach, and some
of the wealthy zamindd7's in Nasirdbdd and Sibi also maintain
guest-houses in which all strangers are accommodated.

It is customary among the Sanatia Kdkars, Makhidni and
Wanechi Tarins, and Zarkdns, to raise subscriptions them-
selves on certain occasions, the system being known as
bijjdr^ haspan ox sayodL Such subscriptions are raised when
an individual has been reduced to poverty owing to unfore-
seen circumstances, such as the burning down of his house,
destruction of crops, when a heavy fine has been imposed,
or when he is heavily in debt. Contributions are invited
by the person in need from among his own tribesmen, who
pay him in cash or kind according to their means. Among
the Makhidni Tarins, the iielghhontlng mminddrs co-operate
in reaping the harvest (hashargirae) and whllo so employed
are fed by the owner of the crop.

Population.

Custom of
hospitality.

Co-operation
amongst the
tribesmen.

CHAPTER I^DESCRIPTIVK:

Population

Food.

the

Atiioao- the Baloch, phor takes the place of baspan, and a
Qt'^tiifnanddr m2iY invite contributions on the occasion
of a marriao-e or to meet the expenses of hospitality : he may
also call for subscriptions on behalf of a needy tribesman,
who is in debt or has a heavy fine to pay.

Coniributions in cash known as mokh are paid by

friends and relations among the Patini Afghdns, Jats and
Baloch on the occasion of marriages, and, as in the Punjab, are
treated as debts of honour to be repaid when occasion offers.

The majority of the people have only two meals daily, one
in the morning and the other at sunset.^ In the higher parts
of the district wheat is the staple grain food and is made
into unleavened cakes {paiiri) baked on a griddle. In the
summer leavened cakes [khamirl) are usually eaten for the
morning meal. Maize, rice and millets aie also used,
the plains the staple grain foods are judr and bdjri,
former being the most common. DdL and vegetables are
also used, but wheat flour is only eaten by the well-to-do.
The nomad tribes generally bake their bread in the
form of kdk or kurmi, which is made by wrapping dough
round a hot stone and putting it on the embers.

Most people eat their bread plain and without relish, but
an infusion of krut is sometimes poured over the pieces to
which boiling ghi is added. Flockowners and Jats (camel
breeders) use milk and its preparations, generally butter-
"milk, with their meals. Ogra or porridge made of crushed
wheat or maize, boiled in water, with an addition of butter-
milk or ghi, is popular among the Kdkars.

Meat is eaten freely when it can be obtained, but it can
seldom be afforded by the poorer classes. Sajji or mutton
roasted before a wood fire is a speciality of the Baloch hill
tribes and is partaken of on all special occasions and given
to important guests. The use of Idndi, a kind of biltong,
is common among the well-to-do classes and also among
some of the poorer people in the Kohlu and Shdlirig tahsiis.
Another name for it Is parsanda and it is known z.s had it or
khadit or pattav among the Brdhuis. It is generally made
of mutton, but occasionally also of goat’s meat, beef or
camel’s flesh, and is pickled in a mixture of salt and asafoe-
tida, cut into strips and dried in the sun.

Now-a-days the diet of the wealthier classes is becoming

BI^ESS.

more civilised. They drink green tea and s7iarbat and eat
fowls and eggs. The use of intoxicating liquor is not un-
common among the Baloch and Jats of Nasirdbdd.

In the highlands mulberries, grapes, apricots, pears and
melons are largely eaten. The wild fruits in use are the
shinai (pisiacia khmijak)^ mrga (wild almonds) and the
berries of the juniper tree which are made into a kind of
porridge {dusha). The fruit {tdkii) of the dwarf palm is also
used. Vegetables are not commonly eaten but in the hills
many of the wild plants including the khokhai (wild onion),
the young leaves of the asafoetida plant, naghora shergi and
bushki^ are often used. Bdl and vegetables are grown
in the plains, the fruits of the ber, pUuy dela anj the seeds
of the gam and are also eaten.

Except among the Kdkars, the men and women eat
separately.

The cooking utensils ordinarily in use are few and dirty ;
they consist of a tripod, a stone griddle, an earthen pot, a
few drinking bowls, a wooden plate used both for kneading
and eating, and a copper can with a spout {gadma),

A Baloch wears a \ong jama like a smock frock down to
the heels, siithan or loose trousers, a long chaddar or scarf, a
pagri of cotton cloth, and shoes narrow at the toe or sandals
of leather or grass. He wears nothing but white, and has an
objection to colours of any kind, and will wear nothing
coloured except his chogha or overcoat. The prejudice is,
however, beginning to break down, and, except among the
Marris and Bugtis, coloured and embroidered coats are
sometimes worn by the leading men. K Baloch woman
wears a red or white cotton sheet over her head, and a chola
or long shift resembling a night gown, which reaches down
to the ankles and is prettily embroidered in front. She also
wears red or white pajamas. The hair is worn in a long
queue and the ordinary ornaments in use are bracelets, a
nose-ring, a necklet and ear-rings. All Baloch men of full
age carry a sword, and sometimes shields made of leather
and studded with silver or brass.

Each tribe has its own distinctive marks either in the way
of tying the pagid or in the cut of their clothes. These are
difficult to describe but are readily recGgnised by the tribes-
men themselves.

Population

Fruit and :
vegetables.

Meals.

Utensils.

Dress.

Population. The dress of the Jats and Pannis resembles that of the
Baloch, but their shirts are shorter, and the Jats often wear
khdki or blue trousers ; the trousers of their married women

are generally red and those of the g-irls white.

Among other Afghdns, the dress of a male consists of
baggy trousers [pariuk) or {shalwdr) jdhai or shirt which
reaches to the knee, patkae or turban tied over a conical cap
{khwalai\ a poti or scarf and a pair of shoes or sandals. The
women have a wrapper {tikrai) and a long shift (rehiln or
kamii) reaching down to the ankles, which in the case of
married women is richly embroidered in front. In the high-
lands, felt codXs, (kosae) postiris 2CCQ. v^Qxn in the winter.
Sandals are usually worn but among the hill tribes these
are being replaced by second-hand ammunition boots
which can be bought for about Rs. 3,

The rise in the standard of living has led to a general
improvement in the style of dress among the wealthier
classes in all parts of the district, and the home made
materials are being rapidly replaced by the finer Indian
piece-goods and muslins. Better materials are also used for
the dress of the women.

Hair. All the tribesmen Baloch, Afghdn, and Brdhui as well

as the Jats wear long hair which falls in curls on either side
of the face. Among the Afghans part of the hair of un-
married girls is made into fine plaits over the forehead and
tied with a brooch [pariingae) the mark of maidenhood, and
the rest is tied in a single plait at the back. That of the
married women is divided by a parting, brought round the
ear and made into two plaits at the back.

Dwellings. The nomads of the highlands generally use blanket tents
{kMidi) made of goats’ hair. A variation of the kizhdi is the
summer shelter, which is covered with mats or bushes
instead of blankets and is called kudhal. Many of the
cultivators in the Zawarah valley abandon their villages in
the summer and erect temporary encampments in the hills
which are known as mena.

In the plains the shelters of the nomads are covered with
mats made of the dwarf palm or of reeds and are known
as kiri.

The settled inhabitants of the poorer classes live in mud-
huts, consisting generally of a single room. The roof is

CHAPTER I— DESCRIPTIVE.

AMUSEMENTS,

either flat or sloping, and is made of brushwood, plastered
over with mud. In the Zidrat hills where juniper trees occur,
the roofs are thatched with juniper bark, and somewdiat
resemble English cottages. The single room is employed
for all purposes, including use as a cattle shed. The houses
of the wealthier classes in Sibi and Nasirdbcid have been
greatly improved in recent years, and consist of several
rooms surrounded by a courtyard with separate sheds for
cattle and stores of grain and bJuisa.

The method of burial usual among Muhammadans is in
vogue, the body being laid north and south with the head
inclined to the west. The nvullci draws the kalima either on the
forehead of the corpse or on a piece of pottery or clod which
is placed under its head. Mourning lasts for three to seven
clays ill the case of a person over seven years old, during
winch time visits of condolence are received and prayers are
offered for the soul of the deceased. Relations and friends
coming from a distance to condole with the family bring
a sheep or some money as an offering and are entertained
by the bereaved family. Among many of the tribes new
clothes are not worn, and no pleasures are indulged in during
the period of mourning. The members of the deceased’s
family among the Baloch and Jats of Sibi do not sleep on a
bedstead, and the Baloch abstain from milk during this
period. The mourning in the case of a child under seven
years lasts from one to three days. Two stones are general-
ly placed on the grave of a man, one at the head and one
at the foot, and three on that of a woman, the third
being in the centre. Among the Kfikars long poles are
erected over the graves of saintly persons as a mark of
reverence.

The only in-door game is chak or het, which resembles chess
and is played by two or four players. Boys play with
knuckle bones {padai) and are fond of marbles.

Of out-door games may be mentioned kenda^ resembling
prisoners’ base, played by the Kdkars, and iir-kamdn ox
spear throwing which is practised by the Zarkiins. The
Marris are keen marksmen and spend much time in shooting
at a target. The well-to-do classes both shoot and course.
T>2xa€\n^ {atiam ot jhdm popular among the men and
women on all festive occasions. Among the Wan^chis and

' '6 ■

Population.

Disposal of
the dead.

Amusenients
and festi-
vals.

Population.

Shrines.

Shrines in
Shdhrig.
Mano Nika.

Shrines in
Kohlu.

Shrines in
Sibi.

CHAPTER 1 — DESCRIPTIVE.

Jats mixed dances are held, but among all other tribes men
and women dance separately.

The only festivals of consequence are the two Ids.^ Horse

races, dancing and shooting at a mark and wrestling form
the amusements on these occasions.

Shrines are ubiquitous in the district, almost every village
o-rave-yard having a patron saint, who in his lifetime was
a village or tribal elder. Reverence for sudi saints is
especially strong among the Kdkar and Tarm Afghans.

Their shrines generally consist of little more than a heap of

stones, or a rough mud or stone enclosure, surrounded by
some poles to which rags, horns and metal bells are attached.

In the Shdhrig tahsil the best known shrines are those
of; (i) Mano Nika, a saint of the Manra valley, who mira-
culously produced a spring of water and whose shrine cures
many diseases and is specially efficacious for childless
women ; (2) Midn Shadi Nika of Kowds, who is said to have
destroyed the old village of Kowds, the ruins of which are
still pointed out ; (3) Kharwdri Nika, at Goshki near Zidrat ;
(4) Ismdil Nika, a kddidn Saiad at Khost who produced a
spring of water near Khost village ; (5) Sheikh Miisa,
whose shrine lies at about a mile and a half from^ the
Shdhrig tahsil, and who was the progenitor of the Sheikhs,
and is said to have produced the water which irrigates the

Shdhrig lands; and (6) Bare Shdh of Midn Kach.t The
Wandchis also attach great reverence to the shrine of
Pir Bukhdri, who turned the water of the Pdi stream into
milk {pai or piii) and thus gave its name to the Pdi valley.

Pir Shdh Mahmdd, whose shrines are situated at Choti in
the Jandrdn hill and at Dathi in Bdrkhdn, is credited with
having produced a spring of water ; he is also supposed to
have subsisted solely on the milk of the wild sheep. The
shrine is held in great reverence by the Zarkdns of Kohlu,
the Khdtrdns and by the Ldni Afghdns of Duki. The shrine
at Maiddn Gari of the Tawakll Mast Fakir, a Shirdni Marri
who died in 1892, has also a great local reputation.

In the Sibitahsil the important shrines are those of : (i)
Male or the Akhund Sdhib near Sdfi ; (2) Pirak Pir, a Marri
saint ; (3) Pir Hdji and Pir Bukhdri whose shrines are near

t Mentioned under Bukhdri Saiads at page 69.

NAMES AND TITLES. S3

Sibi ; ( 4 ) Sheikh Katte near Ndri ; (5) Hotmdn the Marri, at Population..
Quat-Mandai ; and ( 6 ) Salad Ndr Muhammad at Sdngdii.

Another famous saint in the Sibi district was Saiad Bachan
Shdh, whOj in order to show his miraculous power to Nawdb
Misri Khdn, Bdrdzai, cast his own son^ Junian Shdhj into the
fire and brought him out unhurt

Both among girls and boys, and especially among the jats Names and
and Kdkars, many names are to be found which are possibly
of totemistic origin. They are those of animals or plants,
such as toil (parrot) and khahar (tree) and references to
colours such as #^7^/ (bay) and sammid (dun). In other cases
the denominations used for men are those usual among
Muhammadans^ wdiile, in the case of ..women, names begin-
ning or ending with BibI, Khdtfui, Ndz or Bdno are popular.

Shortened forms of the long names given to men as PIru for
Pir Muhammad, Durru for Dur Muhammad, etc., are fre-
quently used. Among the Baloch and Jats, Pannis and
Zarkdns, the names of the grand-parents are often given to
the children of both sexes.

Among the domiciled Hindus, abbreviated names, such as
Deii, Arii, Wihra, Tota are muchused, and the names of the
girls generally follow those of ' their' brothers, thus, If the
brother is called Tota, his sister’s name would be Toti, and,
if Ganga, Gangi.

No ceremonies are observed on the' birth of a girl, and she
is named by the mother or ■ some female' relative. The birth
of a boy is announced thrice by the women attending the
mother, guns are fired, and there are general congratulations.

Among the wealthy Baloch, the man who conveys the first
iie'vvs to the father is. presented with a camel or a horse. The
boy is named on the third or sixth day, after consultation
with a mullcL The ceremony of circumcision takes place
before the seventh birthday.

In stating his name a man will generally add that of his
sub-section, section, clan and tribe to which he belongs.

The term kMn is used both as a suffix and prefix, and in
the latter Case i,s considered a mark of honour among the
AfghdnS. The term is applied among the Afghans not
only to village headmen but also to large landowners and
men of influence. Strictly speaking, the term sarddr is con«
fined to the chiefs of the Marri, Bugti, and Dombki tribes

CHAPTER I^DESCRIPTIVE.

Population.

Rules of
honour.

and to the head of the Bdrdzai family of Sibi ; but it is com-
monly applied by the Pdn^zais, Sdrangzais, Zarkfiiis and
Dfimars to their leading men. The term wadira used
among the Baloch to distinguish the headmen of the
various clans, and the word mvr is also a title of honour.
Among the Jats the term rais is given to their leading men.
Among titles possessing a religious significance may be
mentioned the prefix shah sdhib or the suffix shah, which are
employed by Salads ; sheikh is also sometimes used in a
similar sense. The terms ffttilld and akhund are applied to
men who have some pretensions to religious learning.

A knowledge of the rules of honour [maydr), which pre-
vailed among the people before the British occupation and
which still influence the actions of many of them, is not
without importance from the point of view of administration,
and a brief reference may be made to them here. They are
gradually giving way before British law and order.

It was incumbent on a tribesman : —

(1) To avenge blood.

(2) To fight to the death for a person who had taken
refuge with him. The refugee was called hamsdyah or hhot,
and was always maintained by his protector so long as he
remained under the latter’s roof. An adulterer was,
however, generally refused protection.

(3) To defend to the last property entrusted to him.

(4) To be hospitable and to provide for the safety of the
person and property of a guest. Responsibility for the pro-
perty of a guest does not appear to have been undertaken
by the Pannis and Jats of Sibi, but a Tarin or Kdkar of
Shdhrig and a Zarkfin was bound to recoup any loss.

(5) To refrain from killing a woman, a Hindu, a mins-
trel or a boy who had not taken to trousers.

(6) To pardon an offence on the intercession of a woman
of the offender’s family, a Saiad or a mulld^ an exception
being always made in cases of adultery and murder.

(7) To refrain from killing a man who had entered the
shrine of a pir so long as he remained within its precincts ;
and also a man who, whilst fighting, begged for quarter
with grass in his mouth, or a cloth round his neck or who
put down his arms.

(8) To cease fighting when a a Saiad, or a woman

BLOOD COMPENSATION.

bearing the Kordn on his or her head, intervened between

the parties.

(9) To punish an adulterer with death.

In pre-British days blood had to be avenged by blood if
the parties were of equal position and influence; but if the
relations of the person killed were weak, the matter was
compromised by the payment of compensation. In cases in
which the parties belonged to the same tribe and the offender
himself was out of reich, his nearest relation, viz., his
brother, father or cousin was slain If, however, the offender
belonged to another tribe, it was incumbent on the aggrieved
party to kill one of the section, clan or tribe to which
the former belonged. Such a system was liable to indeflnite
extension and led to interminable blood-feuds which con-
tinued until either the authorities or friends intervened to
arbitrate. In such cases the losses on either side were
reckoned up and compensation was paid to the side which
had lost most.

Might was right in days gone by, and the position of the
party aggrieved was the principal factor in determining the
price to be paid for blood ; hence the compensation for a
mulld, a Saiad or a person belonging to a sardcir hhel or
leading family was ordinarily double that payable for a
tribesman. The ordinary rate of compensation at present
among the Jamdlis, Golas and Khosas is a girl and Rs. 200 ;
Umrdnis, a girl and Rs. 200 or- Rs. 1,500 if no girl is
given ; among the Jats a girl or Rs. 500 ; among the tribes
in Sibi it is Rs. 200 in cash, a girl, a sword and a gun ;
and among the Pannis two girls. Among the Afghan tribes
of Sbdhrig it varies from Rs. 700 to Rs. 2,500, a larger
portion of which is made up in kind ; while among the Zarkdns
of Kohiu the rate of payment is a girl, a sword or gun and
Rs. 500. The loss of an eye or an arm counts as equivalent
to half a life ; and the compensation for a tooth varies from
Rs. 10 to Rs. 60. In former days in Nasirdbdd a thief was
made to pay eleven times the value of the stolen property.

Population

System of
reprisals.

Blood com-
pensation*

CHAPTER If.

ECONOMIC.

HE two dominant features which present themselves in
^ connection with the genera! conditions under which
agriculture can be carried out are the presence of large
mountainous or desert tracts which can never be brought
under cultivation and the comparatively small proportion of
land which possesses perennial sources of irrigation. A large
part of the cultivable area consists of land which is incapable
of permanent irrigation and entirely dependent on rainfall.
This cultivation however is always precarious and a fair crop
cannot be expected with any degree of certainty oftener than
once in about five j^ears.

The conditions of the different parts of the district vary as
greatly as the physical aspects. Nasirdbad, as already stated,
is provided with a system of canals ; four out of the six
circles of the Sibi tahsil are irrigated by channels bringing*
a permanent supply of water from the Nari river, while the
others consist largely of dry-crop area. The cultivation of
the Kohlu plain depends chiefly on rain. In the Harnai valley
water is abundant, but land is comparatively scarce, and in
the Zidfat hills the cultivation is principally confined to the
small valleys which are irrigated by springs or streams. The
Marri and Bugti hills afford small opportunity for cultivation
and their general conditions are dealt with separately in
Chapter V.

The soil of the plains of Sibi and Nasirdbdd is alluvium
commonlv known as pat; in the lower highlands it is
sandy; in Kohlu it is much impregnated with salt; and
clay and gravel occur at the higher elevations. The
best soil is a light loam called mat or lat^ which is found

RAINFALL.

in the Sibi and Nasirdbdd tahsils and is suitable for ail Agricul-

crops. Next comes the khatiri^ which has a lig'ht clay ture.

surface^ retains moisture and is especially suitable for

judr. It is chiefly found in the Nasirdbdd tahsi! and at

Marghzdni, Bostdn, Ddvi, Usmdni and Sdfi Pirak in the Sibi

tahsil. A dark loam called tora mmkka or sidh minhu is found

in the Sbdhrig tahsil, and is used for the cultivation of wheat,

rice and judr. The other varieties are the mithi^ which

contains an admixture of sand and clay ; the thaddi, a fertile

soil found in Nasirdbad ; and the ddfndut containing a mixture

of gravel. The worst kind is the kallai% kallari ox kalrdid^

which produces salt efflorescence ; it is met with in all parts,

but chiefly in the Sibi plain and in the south-eastern portion of

the Kohlu valley.

The rainfall varies with the altitude from 4*95 inches at Rainfall and
Sibi to 1 1 ’5 1 inches at Shdhrig. In the upper parts of the %i\tvation
district the heaviest rainfall is in winter from October in relation
to March, while in the plains the most important rains
are those which fall during the summer months. A good
rainfall affects not only the rain crop cultivation but also
the irrigated land and the springs, streams and kdrcBes^
which supp}}^ the water for irrigation. For a really good
harvest in the highlands rain or snow is required in December
and January. This enables a large amount of rain crop land
to be brought under cultivation and replenishes the sources
of irrigation. In the dry-crop areas in the plains the culti-
vation of yW/r, which is the principal crop, is dependent on
the summer rains which bringdown the flood water from the
hills. The lands in Naslrdbdd are mainly dependent on the
periodical inundations of the Indus river which supplies the
high level canals. These floods usually occur from June to
September. In this tahsil the local rainfall is very scanty
(usually about 3 inches), and the khushkdba cultivation is un-
certain and precarious.

Table IV, Volume B, shows the irrigated and unirrigated Irrigated
villages in the District with their sources of irrigation. Of g^ted^ar^as
the 298 villages, 198 are wholly irrigated, 39 depend on flood in the Dis-
water, 49 are partly irrigated, while 12 have no permanent
source of irrigation. irrigation.

Details of cultivable and irrigable area with sources of
irrigation in the Sibi, ^hdhrig and Nasi rdbdd tahsils which

CHAPTER IP-ECONOMIC.

Agricul-

ture.

Population
dependent
on agricul-
ture,

Seasons of
the year.
Sowing
and harvest
times.

have been partly surveyed are given in table V, Vol. B.
The following abstract shows the areas in ,1904-05 -

Tahsil.

Total area
surveyed
Acres.

Unculti-

vated

Acres.

Cultivable

Acres.

irrigable

Acres.

Khush-

kdba

Acres.

Sibi

249,700 (a)

124,462

125,338

81,591

43,647

Shed h rig

40.3 '4 W

27,053

13,261

10,250

3,°”

Nasircibdd ...

501,334 (c)

186,980

314,254

303,606

10,648

Total ...

1 791*248

338,493

j 452,753

395,447

57,306

{a) Does not include Quat-Mandai, Bddra, Tokhi, Pur and
other tracts still unsurveyed.

{b) Does not include Warikha and other tracts which were
not surveyed.

(<r) Does not include the dry crop area of Lahri, Dombki,
Sundari, Dhdnda and Nasirdb/id estimated at about
21,538 acres.

In the administered area the bulk of the population is de-
pendent on agriculture, but the highlanders, as a rule, com-
bine fiockowning with cultivation. The best cultivators are
the Jats of Sibi and the Khosas, Golas and Jats of Nasirabad.

Two principal harvests are recognised : the spring harvest
which is known in different parts of the district as sarav (Sibi
and Nasirdbdd), ahari (Marris) and dohae or klmshbar
(Afghans) ; and the sanwanri or autumn harvest which is
also known as (Marris) and manae or savshar (Afghans).
Among revenue officials these harvests are known, as in
India, as rabi^^nA kharif. In the Sibi and Nasi'rabad plains
a third crop known as ch 4 tri is sown in the month of chetr
(March) and reaped in the month of June, It chiefly consists
of melons and of jttar^ which is intended as a fodder crop.

In the highlands the rahi crop is the most important and
is appropriately called the ghattfasal or major crop. It is
sown between the months of October and December, and the
harvesting extends from May till July according to the
altitude. In the dry crop areas in the bills, the sowing
of wheat takes place during the months of March and
April. In the plains the crop is sown between the months

CROPS.

^9,

of October and December and reaped in April. The kka-
rif IS sov¥n between the months of July and August and
cut between October and December. In the higher altitudes^
where the crop matures more gradually, it is sown much
earlier so that it may be harvested before the frosts set in.
The following are the chief crops produced at the two
principal harvests

( i) Sibi and Nasirabad tahsils —

Kharif.

AgRICUL'

TURE.

Rabi.

Wheat {Triticiim sativinii),

vSarshaf (Brassica campes-
tris var : Sinapis dicha-
tomd),

Jamba also called tiiramira
{Eruca sativd).

Gram ( Cicerarietinum').

Barley {Hordeum vul^are).

Matar sativinn).

Tobacco {Nlcoticma taha-
cum).

Palt^Zilt iCucurbitd).

Lucerne (Medicago sativd).
id) Shdhrig and Kohiu tahsils-

]\i6.r{Andropogon sorgktnn).

Rice {Ojysa sativd).

Til {Sesat7zu77i indicmi).

Cotton {Gossyphmi),

Indio'o {Indigifei'a tino
to7'ia).

Bdjri {Peu7iisetu77i typhoi-
deuiii).

Mung [Phase olus mungo\

Moth {J haseolus acoiiitifo-
lius),

Kiring {Setria Italica).

[Panicii77t milia-

Rabi. Kharif.

Wheat Rice.

Barley. Ma^ze.

Pal4z4t.

Lucerne.

Tobacco.

Azhddii
ceumi).

{Panicu7n Italicum).

■ The only fibre crop other than cotton is jute (san) which is
sown in small quantities in the Nasirdbdd tahsil during the
kharif hRvvest.

Table VI, VoL B, gives the details for several years of the
areas under the different kinds of crop in the tahsils w^hich
have been surveyed.'

In the Sibi tahsil the area under crops in 1900-01 amounted
to 37,717 acres: 18,170 acres under rahi^ and 19,547 under
kharif \ the areas under the principal crops being wheat
acres, oil seeds 4,248 acreSjjadj' 18,314 acres, rice 199
acres and cotton 530.

ir or judr in Nasir^bdd and Sibi, and as

*** A'ndropogon sorghum is known
judri in Sbdbng: and Kolilu.

CHAPTER 11 — ECONOMIC.

Agricul-

ture.

Staple food-
gfrains.
Judr,

In the Shdhrig tahsil the area under crops in 1904-05
was 9,777 acres, including 44 acres under gardens ; the
Tdbi cxo’^s covered 6,19^ acres and included S »793 ^cres
under wheat ; while there were 3,542 acres under kharif,
including maize 660 acres, and rice 2,368 acres.

The average area under crop in the Nasirabad tahsil
between 1893-4 and 1904-5 was 83,739 acres : rabt 16,675
acres and 67, 061 acres. The principal crops were:

judr 46,618 acres, wheat 2,656 acres, oil seeds including til
22,253 acres, rice 1,805 acres, cotton 108 acres and indigo 77
acres. The area under crop in this tahsil increased from
57,663 acres in 1893-4 to 108,787 acres in 1903-4 and it fell
to 102,736 acres in 1904-5.

The largest cultivation of judr is in Sibi and Nasirdbdd.
The following varieties are recognised in Sibi Chaububbt^
turi^ hor^ tor^ gdhri, mithri or niithra ; and kahdni^ the last
named, taking its name from Kahdn in the Marri country,
whence it was imported some years ago. The first four are
the most generally cultivated. The grains of the bor and
mithri are of a brownish tint, of the gahri red, and of all the
other varieties white. The chaubiibbi is noted for the
sweetness of the stalk and the Uiri fetches the best price.
The tiiri and mithri are also commonly grown in Nasirdbdd,
where the other varieties in use are the haghddr^ alakh^
jufipiir^ patdshOi sdwara and sathrL The baghddr and alakh
are considered the best and are largely cultivated. The
baghddr^ turi and sdwara were originally imported from
Kachhi and the remainder from Sind. The different varie-
ties usually take from four and a half to five months to
ripen, with the exception of the sathri, which matures earl}?’,
being ready for the harvest in ninety days after the sowing ;
hence the saying-*—

‘ ‘ maliina pan?ie ; mahina ganne ;
malitna anne i. e., “ one month
leaves ; one month stalks ; one month grain.”

In irrigated lands, where a good supply of water can be
brought on to the ground, one watering is considered suf-
ficient to prepare the ground for ploughing. After the
ground has been ploughed, the seed is usually sown broad-
cast (chhat), this method being found to be more satisfactory
than drilling. The seeds usually germinate in about four

WHEAT.

days, and on the seventh day the young plants show above
the ground. There is no fixed time for sowing, which is
dependent on the supply of water, the following being the
names of the crops which are sown at different periods : —
Cheiri sown m March [chetr), jethi sown in May {jeth) and
sdnwari ^ 2Xso agetri or agdtri which is sown in July

or earlier if water is available. There is also a fourth
crop csXled pechhdtri which is sown in August and reaped in
December or January. This is not regarded as a satisfac-
tory crop and is only sown as a last resort.

The chetri^ which requires a watering in May, is reaped in
June and is principally used as fodder. The stalks often
sprout again, and if water can be given in July and again
in September, produce grain in about November. This crop
is known as thadda and tejar. The stalks of the thadda are
considered as dangerous for horses and cattle. The jethi
is considered the best and safest crop, ^ Jethi ghar wethi'^

is a common saying, meaning that the jethi once sown is as
good as garnered. When the ears have been harvested,
the stalks, known as idrida kdna or hhannar^ are cut and
stored for fodder. The ordinary method of threshing is
that usual in India, a long pole being placed in the ground
in the centre of the threshing floor and a number of bullocks
being driven round it to tread out the grain.

Thcjiidr is a hardy crop and is not subject to many diseases.
The stalk is sometimes attacked by insects, which are known
as kihydn^ chirto and mdkar, KdnH is a kind of rust which
attacks the ear. The hot south winds {Itl or jhola) cause
jhola katti or withering up of the stalks. Other diseases are
himhi caused by cold winds and want of moisture, and mala
produced by over irrigation.

In the Sibi and Shdhrig tahsils the cultivation of wheat
is generally confined to irrigated lands except in years of
good rainfall when it is also grown in dry crop areas. In
Kohlu it is usually a khushkdba crop, while in Nasirdbdd its
cultivation is inconsiderable.

The principal varieties grown in the plains are the wdru,
sarkhoshay reli Idl or gdhriy reli piU or hdldariy bdrkhdni and
kahdni. The first two are indigenous, reli Idl and reli piU
are so called because they were originally brought by rail
from the Punjab and Sind, 2Xidi bdrkhdni ’O^rid kahdni have

Agricul-,

TURE,

Wheat.

CHAPTER n-~ECONOMIC.

Agricul-

ture.

Wheat in
imirriga-
ted land.

Diseases.

Rice.

been imported from Bdrkhdn and Kahdn. Reli led is consi-
dered the best, has a beardless ear and is not subject to
rust. The warn is a bearded red wheat with a good ear,
but it is a delicate crop and requires much water and can-
not, therefore, be grown in dry crop areas. The wheat
grown in the Shdhrig tahsil is of two kinds, called sra
ghanam, red wheat, and spin ghanam^ white wheat. The
seed obtained from Pur and Warikha is generally preferred.

In the fiighlands the land to be tilled is ploughed over
in the early spring, the first ploughing being called shorn.
The land is again ploughed in June. In October the land
is watered, and when the surface is dried up the seed is
sown broadcast and ploughed in. The ground is then
divided into beds. The wheat sprouts in five or six
days, the sprouts being called zillza. The first watering
is usually given at the time of sowing, the second in fifteen
days, after germination of the seed, the third about the mid-
dle of January and the fourth known as khosha obo or sweet
water early in March. After this, water is given regularly at
intervals of ten or fifteen days until the grain has formed
in the ears. In the plains wheat is sown in the months of
October and November and the harvest is usually ready
about the end of April. The harvest is reaped on the lai
system in accordance with wdiich the labourers receive a
fixed share of the crop; m Sibi this work is generally done
by the Brdhui nomads and Jats from Kachhi who come to the
district in large numbers for this purpose. The method of
threshing is the same as that followed in the case of jucir.

In unirrigated lands in the plains the ground is ploughed
and harrowed after the summer floods and the seed is sown
in October. In the upper highlands the cultivation is sdme-
times continued as late as March if there has been heavy snow.

The principal diseases to which wheat is liable are kemri,
ratti and wdwnt. The first is caused by severe cold which
shrivels up the ears and turns them black. Ratti or snrkhai
(rust) attacks the crop after heavy rain if cold is followed by
sudden heat and damp, cloudy weather. Wciwra is caused
by the cold west wind [knmbi) which withers up young* shoots
during the winter.

Rice is cultivated in the Nasirdbdd tahsil and at Sdngdn,
and more extensively in the Shdhrig, Harnai, Edbihin and

MAIZE.

Gliurmi circles of the Shdhris^ tahsil, where it is the princi- Agricul
pal kharifctop. Six varieties are recognised in Nasirdbdclj
viz : — sukhddsi^ parang, tor, sathri, sunehri and lari, the first
three being of the white and the remainder of the red variety.

The sowing in Nasirdbdd and Sibi commences early in June
and lasts up to middle of August, the harvest being ready in
November and December. The rice generally is not of a
good quality. In Shdhrig the three principal kinds are
scida woriBz or sdda soli, a white variety ; spini worisi ox mre
soli, which is yellowish in colour, and sre worisi or tori soli
which is also white ; all are indigenous to the country. The
sdda worisi is sown in March ; the spini worwi, about a
month later and the sre worisi in June. The first two are
harvested in October and the third three months after the
seedlings have been transplanted. The ground required for
rice cultivation is first manured with the leaves and twigs of
the plants known as spdnda [Pegammi harmald), khamasiirgae
{ Withania coagulans) and sagha. The field is then inundated
and ploughed three or four times,. The rice seed is steeped
for three days, and then placed under a warm cloth for two
days until it begins to germinate when it is sown. In about
three weeks’ time the plants are thinned out and transplant-
ed The field is always kept under water, which is

frequently renewed until the ears are well formed. The
general harvest begins about October, and the grain is
threshed out {sangah) in the usual way by bullocks. The
stalks [paldla) are used as fodder for cattle. The principal
diseases are known as dangar runs and tortiki, the former
being caused by insufficient irrigation and the latter by the
poverty of the soil. Rice can only be grown where there
is a large supply of water, and in such places the crop is a
favourite one, as it is certain and is not so liable to disease
or damage as either wheat

M.3.\zo {makai ox badaghar)\s cultivated almost exclusively Maize,
on irrigated lands in the Shdhrig tahsil, and forms the prin-
cipal kharif crop in the Kach-Kowds circle. The sowing
takes place in the month of June and the harvest is reaped
early in October. The usual diseases are known as torkai
which turns the grain black and is caused by the cessation of
the winds and a high temperature, and which is due

to scarcity of water.

CHAPTER II-~ECONOM!C.

Agricul-

ture*

Oil -seeds.
Sarshaf
TinU jdmha.

Oil-seeds are represented by three varieties, or sai^mn
{Brassica campestris Var : sinapis dichoioma), jmnba (Eruca
saliva) and lil, all of which are cultivated in the Sibi and Na-
slrdbdd tahsds. The oil extracted from the sirek is sweeter
than that of the jdmday and both the seed and oil sell at a
better price. The sirek andjamba sowings take place late in
August or in September and extend till October ; in Nasird-
bdd they are sometimes continued up to the end of December;
malar or pulse {Pisum sativum) IS often grown in the same
fields and in dry-crop areas, sarvdn is also sometimes
sown xNxth judr. The crop requires little irrigation, and one
watering is often considered sufficient. The young plant
commonly used as a vegetable, and the^r^*, which is a variety
of the sirek, is generally grown exclusively for this purpose.
Both varieties are attacked by insects called tdli mala and
lid, and in severe winter much damage is caused by frost.
Later on the crops are liable to be damaged by the kdriwa or
hot winds.

Oil-seeds are largely exported to Sind, and the oil is also
extracted in local presses known as gdJmra. Ttie refuse
kkar or nari) is mixed with chopped straw and given to
cattle, and the chdi^ [kali) is also used as fodder.

Til, known to the Jats as Hr and to the Baloch as kimchid,
is an autumn crop, generally sown in July or August. It is
only grown in the Nasirdbdd and Sibi tahsils, and in the
former represents about 13 per cent, of the annual area
under crop. In the dry crop lands its cultivation is incon-
siderable. There are two varieties, the kdra or black
and the ackha or white, both of which were originally
imported from. Sind ; the black variety is considered the best
and is more extensively cultivated. The crop ripens in
about four months and is harvested in October and Novem-
ber. Frequent waterings are necessary, and the crop is
often cut before it is quite ripe in order to avoid the risk of
losing the seed by the opening of the pods. It is tied in
small bundles and the seed is shaken out by hand.

The stalks are useless as fodder for cattle, but are some-
times given to camels. The bulk of the produce is exported
to Sind.

Gram is only grown in the Nasirdbdd tahsil and is includ-
ed in the rabi harvest. The sowing takes place from the

COTTON.

middle of September to the end of December and the crop Agricul-
is harvested between the middle of February and the end of ture.
April. It is grown on irrigated lands and does best in soft
sandy soils.

It is liable to be damaged by frost in winter, by hot winds
in March and by caterpillars. It is chiefly exported to
Jacobibid and Shahdddpur in Sind.

Cotton locally known as wdr^ zmnwdr kapcin, and karpcts Cottoii.
is grown in both the Nasirdbdd and Sibi tahsils ; in the
former it is confined to the moki or canal irrigated lands,
and ill Sibi is found only at GuIIu Shahr, Bhakra and in the
Talli klmshkdha tracts. It is not a favourite crop, as it re-
quires much water and labour. The best season for sowing
is the month of March, but in Sibi the sowings extend up to
the end of April, and in Nasirdbdd there is a second sowing
in May and June. The March crop produces the best out-
turn.

Cotton growing would appear to be an ancient industry
in Sibi as will be seen from the following extract taken from
Mir Masdm’s History of Sind written in 1600* A.D. ‘‘In
Kor-zamin and Chhatur, which are districts of Siwi, cotton
plants grow as large as trees, in so much that men pick the
cotton mounted. On each cotton plant there are one or two
hundred snakes, of a span long, so that men are obliged to
brush them off with sticks and drive them away before they
can pluck the pods.”

After the seed has been sown, regular waterings are requir-
ed at intervals of 10 or 12 days till October, The plants
blossom in August, the bolls burst in October, and at the
end of the month the picking [chz'ma) is commenced and
continues at intervals of 10 or 12 days till the end of January,
the first picking being known as lawa. After the last pick-
ing the leaves are browsed by sheep and cattle, and the dry
stalk is collected and used for fuel. A crop lasts for three
years, the first year’s crop being known as rop ; the second

® EUiot’s History of India^ Vol. 1, p, 237, Dawson's edition.

CHAPTER n— ECONOMIC.

Agricul-

ture.

fndigo.

Rotation
and outturn
of principal
crops, etc.

as mundhi and the third as treh mimdhL The second year’s
crop is considered the best, both as reg-ards productiveness
and quality. The only disease to which cotton is liable is
the mahla which is caused by rains in November, The raw
cotton (wamvdr) is separated from the pods by women and
children, and the cleaning’ is done in the homes of the people
with the old fashioned hand-machine known as mtri, It is
roughly estimated that an acre of ground produces from 125
to 200 seers of raw cotton, and that a maund of raw
cotton yields about ii seers of cleaned cotton. The average
price obtainable for cleaned cotton is one rupee for 4 seers,
and for uncieaned cotton Rs. 2-S-0 per maund. Tiie cotton
seed is excellent food for cattle and sells at from Rs. 1-14-0
to Rs. 2-8-0 per maund.

Indigo {nil) is grown in Rojhan in the Nasirdbad tahsil,
the average area under crop being about 1 16 acres in a year.
The crop is only grown on irrigated land. Sowing takes
place in the month of June and the crop is harvested in
November and December. It is usually sown every year,
but it is possible and common to get crops for three
years off the same plants. The first year's crop is known as
rop, the second as mimdhi and the third as treh mundhi. In
the third year the yield of dye is small and the crop is
generally kept for seed. The profits of the indig*o vary
greatly. If the canals fail early in the season, the plants
are liable to wither, while if the supply is excessive, the dye
is washed out and blight sets in. For about a month after
sowing it is necessary to irrigate the land every third day,
but at the end of this period irrigation every ^eighth day is
sufficient. After being cut the plants are steeped in vats and
the sediment which takes the form of a paste Is made into
small balls, in which form it is exported to Sind and the
Punjab

The following extract is taken from a report written in
1900 by Mr. F. G. Colvin, then Revenue Commissioner, in
connection with the settlement of the Shdhrig tahsil

** Except iox ^ mahdh which lie in the hills, the quality
of the lands in all five circles is fairly uniform. The land

Agricul-

ture,.

ROTATION OF CROPS.

available for cultivation is, as a general rule^ limited, and
the water available from the hill stream is generally (in the
Harnai, Ghurmi and Bdbihdn circles almost ^'invariably) more
than sufficient for the land * ' The people

are perpetually occupied in improving or at any rate main-
taining the quality of their lands, and manage to cultivate a
great portion thereof twice in the year or at any rate three
times in two years/’ Manure is accordingly more commonly
used in this tahsll than in other parts of the district. The
stalks of wheat and rice are also burnt, the ashes serving
as manure; and for rice crops certain plants and branches
of trees, as already explained, are buried in the ground.
In other parts of the district manure is seldom used except
for special crops near the villages and in NasirdbAd for the
cotton fields. The necessity is not so great owing to the
system of allowing ground to lie fallow, which is possible
owing to the large area of land available for cultivation.
Land is seldom cropped twice in the same year except in
Nasirdbdd when, if the kharif has failed, the same ground
is utilised for the following spring harvest ; the system being
known as diibdri. In Kohlu land is generally allowed to lie
fallow for one year ; in Nasirabdd for two to three years
sehsdla and chdrscila , while in Sibi the rule varies according
to the extent of land available in each circle, from 2 crops
in 3 years to i crop in 3 years and sometimes to even only
I crop in 5 years. In dry crop areas and in lands irrigated
by flood-water there is no precise rule, the ground being
cultivated whenever opportunity offers.

There is no regular system of rotation. In Shdhrig, where
much of the land is cultivated every year, wheat is often
followed by rice, and rice by maize or judr ; but the last
named is not much grown, and it is the practice to grow
wheat and rice in alternate years or to grow wheat or rice
successively in the same plot for two or three years, the
wheat being followed by rice and vice versa. In other
parts judr may follow wheat, but after judr the land is
usually allowed to lie fallow before wheat ox judr are sown
again. . ■

CHAPTER II— ECONOMIC,

Agricul-

ture®

The following statement shows the results of crop experi-
ments, giving the outturn per acre of the various crops in
the different tahsils : —

and \
vegetable
production.

PAUzdU

—

Nasiribdd.
Maunds
per acre.

Sibi.
Maunds
per acre.

Shdhrig.
Maunds
per acre, j

Kohlu.
Maunds
per acre.

17I

Wheat

Land irrigated

and manured.

I Si's

......

Land irrigated

and not man-
ured.

17J

12J

Dry crop land ...

i 3 |S

Rice

17 to 20

¥0

NasirdbAd
from to ii|

The average produce of makai in Shdhrig tahsd is 17
maunds, and of sireh^ jdmba and gram in
to 23 maunds, while that of til varies
maunds.

Gardens and orchards are not a feature of the district, and
with the exception of the Harnai and Kach-Kowas valleys,
little fruit is grown. The majority of the villages in these
valleys have orchards, and the principal fruits are the
mulberry, apricot and grape (a fine black variety of which is
grown in the villages near Harnai) and smjid {Elceagnus
hortensis) in the Harnai valley, and the apricot, pear and
smjid in villages in the hills.

The cultivation of cucurbitaceous crops [pdlezdt)^ which
term includes various kinds of melons [kharbuBa and iarbiU)^
cucumbers {hddrang) and pumpkins and gonxA {kadti)^ is
indigenous to the country, but its extent is limited. As
regards vegetables, pumpkins, gourds, cucumbers and car-
rots appear to be the varieties indigenous to the country,
and the (egg plant) and (spinach) have only

been recently introduced. The people of the country are,
however, still ignorant of the use of kitchen vegetables, and
their cultivation is chiefly confined to the neighbourhood of
the bazars and railway stations. Of recent years, owin^to

EXTENSION OF CULTIVATION.

the formation of a summer military camp at Zidrat, an im-
petus has been given to the cultivation of vegetables in the
neighbourhood, and potatoes, onions and melons have been
grown with gieat success at Kowas. The total area under
gardens and orchards (including Government and Railway
gardens] in the Harnai valle}^ amounted to 44 acres in 1905.
Mulberry trees are grown in considerable numbers in the
liarnai valley, and the fruit ripens about the middle of xVlay.
The season lasts for about a month, and during this time the
fruit forms one of the chief articles of diet among the
people. It is chiefly eaten raw. An improved kind of mul-
berry, the leaves of which are suitable for sericulture, has
recently been introduced, and large numbers of young trees
have been orown from seed in the Government gardens.

In the plains little or no fruit is grown except at Sibi
itself and at Mehrdbpur in the Nasirdbdd tahsil, where
gardens have been started. Country vegetables such as
pulse, gourds, radish, carrot and bfinjcil are grown in most
of the villages, and at Sibi itself market-gardening is be-
coming a growing industry. The vegetables include the
Oldinary English and Indian varieties, and are exported re-
gularly to Quetta during the winter months.

Experiments have recently been made with sugar-cane
both at Khost and Sibi, and samples produced at the former
place have been pronounced to be ‘Vremarkably fine.'’

^ Owing to the many changes that have taken place from
time to time in the composition of the district and the
absence of reliable data during its earlier history, it is not
possible to show the extension of cultivation by figures.

No statistics are available as regards the Sibi tahsfi during
the first years of British occupation ; but from an examina-
tion of the figures for the decade ending with 1901, it would
appear that while the area of land irrigated from perennial
sources has not undergone any very considerable increase,
there has been a marked general extension oi khushkciba
and cultivation. This increase, however, cannot be

illustrated by figures, as the cultivation is dependent on rain-
fall and varies from year to year according to the seasons.
In the Shdhrig tahsil, where the amount of culturable land
is limited, the area actually under cultivation has increased
rom 8,399 acres in 1899-1900 to 9,777 acres in J904-5. In

Agricul-

ture,'

Extension of
cultivation.

Agricultural

advances.

CHAPTER n--^ECONOMIC.

Agricul-

ture.

Agricultural

'mplements.

Kohlu there has been a marked increase, as prior to the
British occupation in 1892 there appears to have been little
or no cultivation except in the immediate vicinity of the
villages.

The great increase has been in the Nasirabdd sub-division,
which prior to the construction of the canals was practically
a desert waste, inhabited by a nomad population. With re-
gard to more recent years, the area of land actually under
cultivation has increased from 57,663 acres in i893“4 to
102,736 acres in 1904-5. During the same period the
cultivation of judr has increased from 30,944 acres to 49,486
acres, of wheat from 361 to 8,714 acres, and of rice from
868 to 4,141 acres. On the other hand there has been a fall-
ing off in the cultivation of both til and cotton.

A list of implements used with the vernacular name of
each, both in Pashtd and Jatki, will be found in appendix II.

The principal implements include the plough, which is
known as yivi^ hal or har ; the plank harrow or scrap-
er Mnr^ khcil) ken with which embankments are made,
and the clodcrusher or log used in place of a roller for
breaking clods and smoothing the ground, known as
mala. Among minor implements may be mentioned
the rambae or ramba or weeding spud ; the kodal or hoe ;
the dal or dhal or wooden spade worked by two men with
a rope for making small embankments ; the sickle [lor
or dcitri) for reaping ; the four or two-pronged forks {char
shdkha or tryang and doa skdkha or bidni) and the wooden
winnowing spade {dhrapae or dhalli) ; the rake [para or
pahora) for collecting the grain and straw scattered on the
threshing floor. There has been no appreciable improve-
ment in these implements, though rakes, axes, hand-saws
and knives of English manufacture are now sometimes
used, and the use of iron for agricultural work is probably
more general than in former days. Appendix III contains
a list of revenue and agricultural terms.

The Land Improvement Loans Act, XIX of 1S83, and the
Agriculturists’ Loans Act, XII of 1884, have not been applied
to the Agency, but the question of their extension is under
consideration. Rules to regulate such advances have been
promulgated under the executive orders from the Govern-
ment of India, and are embodied in the Baluchistdn Takdvi

AGRICULTURAL ADVANCES.

10 1

Advance Manual^ 1902. The annual grant for the whole
Agency is Rs, 60,000, of which Rs, 8,000 are allotted for
the Sibi district The Political Agent is authorised, within
the limit of his grant, to sanction advances not exceeding
Rs. 1,000 in each case, and the Revenue Commissioner up
to Rs. 3,000 ; the sanction of the Local Government is neces-
sary for advances in excess of this amount. The ordinary
rate of interest is i anna in the rupee or 61 per cent, per
annum, but in a case in which the Political Agent is satis-
fied that the project is a sound one financially, and is likely to
lead to an increase of revenue, which, within the term fixed
for the complete repayment of the advance, will amount to not
less than the whole interest ordinarily chargeable under the
rules, he is at liberty to grant the advances free of interest.
The advances can be granted either for works carried out by
the Political Agent himself or by the agricultural population.

During the years 1897-8 to 1904-5, advances amounting to
Rs. 12,790 were granted under the Land Improvement Loans
Act, and Rs. 40,413 under the Agriculturists’ Loans Act;
the recoveries during the same period being Rs. 24,284*' and
Rs. 35,612 respectively. Details by tahsils for each year are
given in table VII, Vol. B. The largest amount has in each
case been utilised in the Sibi tahsil (Rs. 28,000).

The advances are ordinarily given for sinking new kdrezes^
repairing and improving old ones, digging millahs^ making
embankments {batids)^ sinking wells, and in times of drought
and scarcity for the relief of distress and the purchase of
seed and cattle. A tendency among the recipients to devote
the advances to purposes other than those for which they
were granted has been checked in recent years.

Repayments of advances taken for the improvement of
khushkdba lands are usually recovered yearly, and in other
cases half-yearly instalments.

Suspensions are sometimes granted, but there have been
no cases during the ten years ending 1904 in which advances
have had to be remitted.

In the beginning the people had strong objections to pay-
ing interest, but their prejudices seem to have gradually dis-
appeared and they now readily avail themselves of the loans.

Agricul-

ture.

102

CHAPTER II— ECONOMIC.

Agricul- The mminddrs of the district are ready to take small loans,
ture. and these are freely given ; but the majority are too poor to
undertake large loans, and these are not encouraged unless
there is a fair chance of success. In cases of large loans for
important works interest is often exempted.

Agricultural In the Material Progress Report of the Thal-Chotidli

indebted- district for the decade ending looi, the Deputy Commis-

ness, ■ ,

sioner remarked : —

‘‘The cultivators of the district are poor, but as a rule
they are able to maintain themselves and have no very ex-
travag-ant tastes. Indebtedness is therefore not general, but
of late years the scarcity and famine, which have prevailed
throughout the district, have had a bad effect, and indebted-
ness is now greater than it was a few years ago. The
principal cause of this is the failure of the crops for several
seasons. The custom of the payment of walwar is also a
frequent source of debt. Figures showing the mortgage
liabilities of the whole district are not available, but in the
Shdhrig tahsil, ivhich has lately come under settlement, it is
computed that the area under mortgage amounts to about
one thirty-seventh of the total area of the tahsil. The indebt-
edness in this tahsil is known to be heavier than in
most parts of the district. Special measures have now
been taken to prevent the further transfer of land to
aliens.”

The succession of bad seasons would also seem to have
increased the indebtedness of the people of the Sibi tahsil,
and the amount of cash loans raised on lands by cultivators
during the four years 1899 to 1903 and entered in the tahsil
registers amounted to Rs. 99,368, of which Rs. 57,027
were on account of mortgages and Rs. 42,341 on account
of sales. Dealing with the transfers of land, the report,
referred to above, says

“ Reliable statistics of sales and mortgages in this district
are not available, as in many parts both sales and mortgages
are often negotiated among the people themselves without
the formality of registration deeds. The majority of these
transactions are between the people of the country ; and the
number of aliens into the hands of whom lands have passed
is inconsiderable. In Sibi, for instance, the total value of

AGmCULTURAL INDEBmDNESS. 103

land sold to Hindus during the last ten years has only Agricul^
amounted to Rs. 11,692. The majority of these were local tufe.
Hindus belonging to the villages.’’

The following statement gives figures of mortgages and
sales which were registered in the district during the years
1903-4 and 1904-5 : —

Details.

Tahsll.

Mortgages.

Sales,

Amount.

District

Total.

I Amount

District

Total.

Rs. a.

Cfi

Rs. a.

Mortgaged or r

Sibi

5.89s 8

2,122 0

sold by cuftiva j

Nasirdbild.

19,560 0

3,476 0

tors to Hindus 1

Shdhrig...

208 0

...

Kohlu ...

...

—

25,663 8

—

5.598 0

Mortgaged or r

Sibi

5 . 54 ° 0

18,070 0

sold bv cultiva- |

Nasirdbdd.

20,432 13

tors to cultiva-i

Shdhrig...

....

500 0

tors* {

Kohlu ...

...

—

5>540 0

—

39,002 13

Mortgaged or

Sibi

...

625 0

sold by Hindus

625 0

to cultivators.

Mortgaged or

Sibi

...

382 13

sold by cultiva-

—

382 13

tors and Hindus

to Government,

Mortgaged or

Sibi

300 0

sold by Hindus to

“

300 0

Hindus.

Mortgaged or

Shilling...

497 6

3 H 35 0

*«»

sold by aliens

and contractors

from the Punjab"

among them-

selves.

...

497 6

...

3.^35 0

The rates of interest charged to cultivators by the Hindu
money-lenders vary in different localities, and according to
the circumstances of the cases, ranging from 2 pies in the
rupee per mensem or r2| per cent, per annum to i anna in
the rupee per mensem or 75 per cent, per annum. Interest

Domestic

animals.

CHAPTER n--ECONOMIC.

for advances of grain is usually charged at the rate of 25
uer cent, and is repayable in kind at the next harvest.

The cultivators also finance each other, and in this case
interest is not mentioned or charged in a direct form. For
religious reasons the orthodox will not pay interest in cash^
but have no scruple about paying its equivalent in grain,
and an arrangement is made either on these lines in grain,
or the terms of mortgages are so arranged that the re-
coveries include enough to cover both principal and interest.
The systems followed are the ijdra or contract and the
salam. Under the former system the land or land and water
is mortgaged as security for an advance and the mortgager
continues to cultivate it, but gives a fixed quantity of grain,
as previously agreed upon, at each harvest to the mortgagee
as interest until the loan is repaid. In Nasirabad the usual
system is to mortgage the land with possession for a period
of years settled by mutual arrangement. If at the lapse of
this period the mortgager is unable to redeem his debt, the
land is valued and such portion of it as is considered
equivalent in value to the debt lapses to the mortgagee,
while the remainder is handed over to the owner. This
system also prevails in Kohlu and is known as turcma girao
by the Afghans and heriband by the Baloch.

l:\\^salani system takes different forms ; when a cultivator
obtains a loan he agrees at the time to repay it at a fixed
rate at the next harvest, this rate being generally much higher
than that current at the time of the loan. Thus if a man
takes a loan of Rs. 50 at a time when wheat is selling at the
rate of 10 seers to a rupee, he will agree to repay the loan
in wheat at the rate of 15 or 20 seers to the rupee. This
system is also applied to advances of grain. If a man
obtains 10 maunds of wheat when the sale price is 16 seers,
he will either take the grain at a lower valuation, say 12
seers for the rupee, and agree to repay in cash at the current
rate of 16 seers at the next harvest, or he will agree to repay
the loan in grain at higher rate, say 20 seers to the rupee.

Horses, bullocks, camels, donkeys, sheep and goats are the
principal domestic animals. Buffaloes are found in Nasirabad
and Sibi, also occasionally in the Shahrig tahsil. Fowls are
kept in most of the villages and fetch about 4 annas
apiece. Eggs cost from 3 to 6 annas per dozen.

Ageicul-

. , TURE.

HORSE-BREEDINQ,

105

The following* table shows the number of camels, donkeys, Agricul-
cattle, sheep and goats and buffaloes belonging to the tore.
permanent inhabitants in each tahsil in 1904: —

Tahsil,

Camels.

! Don-
keys.

Bullocks
and cows.

Sheep and
goats.

Buffa-

loes.

Sibi tahsil

1.337

526

4,691

16,649

128

Kohlu tahsil

638

792

1.979

32,339

...

Shcihrig tahsil ...

100

923

5,020

44,690

Naslrdbdd ...

2,000

500

5 >000

6,000

400

Total ...

4.07s

2,741

16,690

99.67S

538

The numbers in possession of the nomads are
estimated to be as under : —

roughly

Tahsil.

Camels.

Don-

keys.

Bullocks
and cows.

Sheep and
goats.

Buffa-

loes.

Sibi tahsil i

47 042

529

128

14,164

...

Kohlu tahsil

ISO

...

Shdhrig tahsil ...

1,017

389

2,227

Total ...

S7209

927

207

16 400

Information about the different breeds of horses in Bala- Horses,
chistdn, their rearing and training, and the system of breed-
ing adopted by the Army Remount Department will be
found in a monograph published in 1905 under the authority
of the Revenue Commissioner in Baluchistdn/'^

Sibi is the centre of horse-breeding operations in the lower Sibi Horse
part of the Agency, and the annual fair held in the month
of February each year is one of the best for young stock in
Northern India. It was first instituted 1111885, and table
VIII, Volume B, shows the numbers of the animals which

* Horses^ liorse’-hreeding and Horse Management in Baluchistan^
by R. HugheS'Buller, I.C.S., with an appendix by Major H. M. Patter-
son, Army Remount Department.

io6

CHAPTER II-’ECONOMIC.

Agricul-

ture.

have been exhibited during the ten years ending with 1904,
and the amount of the expenditure inctirred in prizes and
other items. This expenditure varies from Rs. 3,278 to
Rs. 4,1765 and is met by contributions from the iaiperial and
Provincial Revenues and Local Funds.

Difficulties arise in analysing the results, owing partly to
a change in the system of the registration of ponies which
took place in 1900, and partly to the absence of figures for
northern and dealers’ horses. It may be assumed, however,
that the number of these is on the decrease owing to the
prohibition of export of horses from Afghanistan and to the
fact that a great number of dealers’ horses are disposed
of in a fair which takes place in Sind earlier in the year. In
only two years, 1900 and 1903, have serious decreases occur-
red. In the first year this appears to have been due to the
prolonged drought of four years which culminated in 1900,
whilst the diminution in 1903 is attributed to large purchases
made by speculative settlers from the colonies on the Jhelum
Canal and the Punjab. On the whole it may be said that
the number of exhibits of local horses is being maintained,
while the quality is undoubtedly improving.

In 1903 the horse-breeding operations, which had hitherto
been carried on by the Civil Veterinary Department, were
handed over to officers of the Army Remount Department.
There are no local breeders of importance to be found in the
district and most of the horses brought to the fair are bred
in Kachhi and in the highland districts of Baliichistdn, the
principal importers being Brdhuis. The following statement
gives statistics of branded mares, &c., in the Sibi district
on March 31, 1904 : —

No. of
branded
mares in
each
tahsil.

Number in each
tahsil.

No.

Name of
tahsU.

Name of
stand.

stallions
at each
stand.

Colts by :
Govern-
1 ment

1 stallions.

Fillies by
Govern-
ment
stallions.

Geld-

ings.

Sibi . .

Sibi .. ,,

60 ' ■

1 4

' 2 ,

Nasiribdd .. |

Nasi'rdbdd . .

*•

’/'Total . ..."

•

154

■ '14"

CAMELS.

107

The Quetta and Kalat stallions are brought down to Sibi Agricul-
in winter. Daring the winter, too, a stallion belonging to
the Pishhi Bazar Fund is sent to Sibi and the expenses con-
nected with its keep are paid by the Sibi Municipal Fund.

The bullocks bred in the Bdla Ndri and Bhdg Ndri which Cattle,
come from the districts of Kachhi are well known and are
suitable for agricultural, siege train and army transport pur-
poses. They are of two distinct types. The larger are 56
inches at the shoulderj white or fawn in colour, and with
horns growing upwards and inwards. The other type is a
smoky white in colour with black legs and neck, 42 to 48
inches at the shoulder and with horns growing slightly
upwards and backwards. Both kinds fetch good prices, a
pair selling for Rs. 100 and over. The cows are good
milkers. The hill cattle are much smaller, but they are
very hardy and can carry heavy loads for considerable dis-
tances. Prizes for cattle are also given at the Sibi Fair.

The principal breeds known from their colour are bagga^

IdL jharra, kcila and sd%m.

The importance and usefulness of the camel has decreased Camels,
since the opening of the railways, but it is still the most
common transport animal. The large majority of the animals
kept by the permanent inhabitants are females, which are
used for breeding purposes and are usually placed in charge
of the professional J at graziers.

The non-indigenous camels belong chiefly to the Ldngav
Brdhui nomads who visit the district during winter.

Their estimated number is about 1,200 in an ordinary
Near. Other owners are the Baddzai and Snahozai Ban-
guizais, Pirkdnis, Sheikh Husainis, Hdrfmis and Muhammad
Hasnls. In the Shdhrig tahsil the transport trade between
Harnai and Loralai and Fort Sandeman is in the hands
of the Ldngav and Ghilzai camelmen.

The principal breeds found in the district are known as
X\\% harela ox the Punjab camel ; the makrdni which comes
from Makrdn, the kachhi d.nd the doband which is indi-
genous. The principal breeders in the district are Khosas,

Jakrdnis and Jamdlis in Nasirdbdd, Bijjdrzai Bangulzais,
Marghzdnis, Bdruzais andjats in Sibi and the Harris in Kohlu.

The donkey is chiefly used for transport and by Afghdn Donkeys,
labourers for carrying building and embanking materials.

Agricul-

ture.

Sheep and
goats.

io8 CHAPTER UNECONOMIC.

They carry on an average about 2 maunds and their price
variL from Rs. 20 to Rs. 25. The ordinary ind.pnous
breed is poor, but a better stamp of animal is kept by the

Hindus who use them largely for riding. ... „ tu

The indigenous breed of sheep in the highlands is of the
thick-tailed hornless variety, generally white in colour and
of low build, the different kinds being known as hherd or
hUri and khetrdni. Other varieties found in the Harnai
valley are the sra mesh, which is brownish in colour, an
the sheep from the Marri hills which are^ lighter in size and
have smaller tails. In the plains the indigenous sheep is
known as the kuk and has a small tail. The different
varieties of the goat are the 7 ndrak, gorak, modi or hornless
variety, kosM, gdhri, kamtar and barbari. The ka 7 ntar which
has long white ears and the barbari which is usually brown
and white in colour with short ears are considered the best.

A o'oat produces about 12 ounces of wool each year, a
sheep'’ 2 to 3 pounds and a camel about 2 pounds. Goat
hair {dds) is used by nomads for making ropes, sacks and
Mehdi blankets ; and camel wool {milis) for sacks and a^ rough
cloth. The price of sheep’s wool depends on the Kardchi
market, to which it is exported, and exhibits considerable
variations, being sometimes as low as Rs. 13 and sometimes
as high as Rs. 22 per niaund. The buyers are chiefly mid-
dlemen.

Male camels vary in price from Rs. 50 to Rs. 70 ; female
camels fetch from Rs. 50 to Rs. 65 ; ordinary small ponies
can be purchased from Rs. 50 to Rs. 100 ; the price of horses
varies considerably, good ones fetching Rs. 300 or more.
The price of a pair of bullocks varies from Rs. 60 to Rs. 100.
The price of a cow depends on the quantity of its milk and
ranges from Rs. 25 to Rs. 100. Sheep fetch from Rs. 5
to Rs. 10; goats from Rs. 5 to Rs. 10, and Iambs and kids
from Rs. 2 to Rs. 3-8.

Pasture P^^^^ of the district the area of pasturage is

grounds and practically unlimited, and in norma! years the hill sides are
grazing. covered with grass and numerous small cruciferous and

leguminous plants which afford excellent grazing for sheep
and goats. Good camel grazing is obtainable in most places.
In the irrigated tracts bhtisa, green wheat and barley
{khid or kkasil) and green stalks of maize and jud?' are also

Average
value of
each kind
of animal.

CATTLE DISEASES.

109

used io their seasons as fodder for horses and cattle. In
years of continued drought the Harris and Bugds and the
people of Kohlu, who have but little cultivation, are often
brought to considerable straits and in exceptionally bad
seasons are forced to emigrate with their flocks and herds
to Sind and Nasirdbdd. There are no restrictions as regards
grazing except in the Government forests ; though cultivated
areas are protected, and in many places small areas in the
immediate neighbourhood of cultivation are reserved for
local use. In the administered areas the principal tracts
noted for good pasturage are the Barg in Kohlu, and the
Khawazarai, Sahra Nishpa, Tormana, Pdn, Pur, the 2ar-
ghdn hills and Sham, Aghbarg and Lakrai in the Shdhrig
tahsil. The local names of the principal grasses found in
Shdhrig are sdbci sargari, murgha, barwas, shakna^ khorycis^
Mb and ghasidna ; and the gandil, siwar^ chopa^ chdbar and
sumokh or sdwar in Kohlu.

In the plains numerous grasses spring up in great
luxuriance after the floods. Of these the Pmiicimi antidotale
called by the natives gam is the most important, often forming
large bushes. The Eleusine flagellifera and a species of
Erag7'osHs d,TQ dAso ^hnn&Bxit. In Nasirdbdd a grass knowh
as wi is cultivated and watered and is stored for the use
of horses. In the autumn and winter the stalks of the judr
and maize {karbi) which are grown in large quantities are
used as fodder. Camels find abundant fodder in the
salsoiaceous plants, tamarisk, kikar^ kandi and other trees
and bushes. In addition to the and w, the principal

grasses are khiv or klimv, gmidhil^ sdwra, smr, datab and
char^

No scientific enquiries into prevailing cattle diseases have
ever been made. Mention may, however, be made of a few
of the more common diseases known to the cultivators, their
characteristics and the local remedies. In most cases the
branding iron is resorted to and the midld's charm is regard-
ed as the best specific. Among cattle the most fatal disease
is urao, sidr or gau margy the symptoms of which are
discharges of fluid from the nose, loss of appetite and erup-
tions on the lungs. It generally proves fatal in about
fifteen days, and the animal appears to be in great pain.
Animals that survive this period are made to inhale the

Agricul-

ture.

Cattle

diseases.

CHAPTER IT-ECONOMIC,

smokQ of gang'll {Orihonnopsis mtermedia). Branding- on the
forehead and back is resorted to and a mixture of whey is
administered. This disease is possibly pleuro-pneiimonia.
Other common diseases are foot and mouth disease (fnuhdro)^
known to the Afghans as kardo and to the Baloch as chdro.
Branding on the forehead or back is usually practised in the
case of the former. An animal sick with kdliwa generally suc-
cumbs at once and no treatment is known. Diarrhoea (bhuk) and
phipkri{lnng disease) are also not uncommon^ but are seldom
fatal. In both cases branding is the usual remedy. Other
cattle diseases known in Kohlu are bapp or choripai^ which is
a swelling of the legs followed by lameness ; and gtilgand
ox giilgandah^ a swelling of the throat. Siirpa is peculiar to
camels, the symptoms being a cough and discharge of
fluid from eyes and nose. It is possibly acute bronchitis.
The remedies include branding the upper lip, chicken soup
and a preparation of pepper, ajwdrn^ dried ginger, clothes and
cinnamon mixed in a quarter of a seer of molasses. Segrega-
tion is generally resorted to in cases of khullok or tokhae
fcough) and garr (itch). For itch the camelmen apply a
mixture made of the ashes of the kirai' tree and subsequently
rub the body with mustard or kerosine oil. Sinahand ox
bharijy which causes lameness and is probably due to over-
fatigue and over-driving, is common. Branding and a mixture
of urine, molasses, liquor 2ind gur are the usual remedies.

kxxiong bimnargy knowm also as buswAr ox wumidry
is the most fatal disease. The symptoms are the same as the
sirao and it is probably the same disease. It causes great
mortality and is very infectious. ‘‘ A hundred goats says
the local proverb, “are only one meal for the A

kind of inoculation is practised by taking a portion of the
lung of a diseased animal and mixing it with equal quantities
of powdered cloves, pepper, turmeric, aniseed and ginger,
and inserting the mixture in a slit in the ear of each of the
remainder of the flock. Other diseases are muhdroy a species
of foot and mouth disease, itch, for which the animal is
anointed with a mixture made of the body of a snake boiled
m ghiy bhuk disease) and dukh.

The two last named are fatal, A sheep afflicted with tak is
said to stagger, fall and die at once. Post-mortem examina-
tions show that the flesh has assumed a dark-red colour. No

CANALS,

I II

local remedy except a mulWs charm is known for it. Sheep
also suffer from small-pox [zari gurpukh or luni), foot and
mouth disease [kiirdOy chdro or muhdrd) and a disease known
as by which worms are produced in the stomach. All
are fatal and no specific remedies are known except charms.

Canals are found only in the Nasirdbdd tahsil, and the
area irrigated by them formed 90 per cent, of the total culti-
vated area in the tahsil (1905). These canals are the Begdri
and the Desert or Shdhiwdh, both of which are taken off
from the river Indus. The former, which has two branches,
the Niirwah and the Sirwdh, irrigates the lands of the circles
of Khanpur, Muhammadpur and Sirwdh.

The Begdri is the largest channel in the western system
of the Jacobabdd canals, and it is said to have been origi-
nally begun in the time of Nfir Muhammad Kaihora, and
takes its name from the fact that degdr or impressed labour
was employed. In 1S51 the canal at its head was only 24
feet wide with a depth of 9 feet ; it was enlarged in 1852 to
1854 and again extended in 1856. Schemes for a still further
extension are now under consideration (1905).

The Desert canal irrigates lands in the following circles : —

(i) Lahri Dombki circle, where 68 per cent, of the area
under cultivation is under canal irrigation ; (2) Sanari
(with 80 per cent, of the cultivation under canal irrigation);
(3) Mdnjhipur (99 per cent) ; (4) Dhanddh (72 per cent.) ; (5)
Sohbatpur with the whole of the cultivated area under canal
irrigation, and (6) Nasird.bd.d (75 per cent.)

This canal has four branches, the Shdhiwdh, Frontier
Rajbha, Uch Rdjbha and Manjdthi Rdjbha.

The basis of the Desert or Shdhi canal is an old channel
of the Maqsfid VVah, which is also said to have been begun
in the time of the Kaihoras. This channel was improved in
1870 by local landowners. In 1873 the work was taken over
by Government and the canal was widened and extended,
and subsequently much improved. The capital outlay up to
1899 amounted to Rs. 12,72,581. The canals were made
primarily with the object of benefiting the Upper Sind Fron-
tier District. A secondary object, however, and especially
in the case of the Desert Canal, was to supply water to the
large tracts of land in Kaldt territory, thereby introducing
a powerful stimulus to the settlement and pacification of the

Agricul-

ture.

Canals,

CHAPTER II— ECONOMIC.

Agricul- country on the Sind border. The canals in the sub-division
TURE. under the general supervision of the Executive Engineer

of the Began Division.

The details of the area cultivated during each of the twenty-
fouryears between 1881-2 and 1904-5 by both canals and the
amount of the revenue are shewn in table IX, VoL B, Dur-
ing the ten years ending in 1901, the annual area irrigated
in Kalat territory averaged 72,173 acres and the revenue
Bs. 72,359. Of these, 37,223 acres were under the Desert
Canal and 34,950 acres under the Begari Canal, the average
revenue being Rs. 37,405 and Rs. 34,954 respectively. In
1904-5 the irrigated area amounted to 71,348 acres under
the Desert Canal and 31,737 under the Begari Canal (total
103,085 acres) and the revenue assessed was Rs. 1,07,021
and Rs, 31,759 respectively, maldng a total of Rs. 1,38,780.

The largest area under cultivation and the largest amount
of revenue was during 1903-4, for which the figures were as
follows : —

Area cultivated. Assessment,

Desert Canal ... 68,302 acres. Rs. 1,02,617

Regdri ,, 40,486 ,, ,, 40,489

108,788 Rs. 1,43,106

Until 1903, when the nidbai was leased to the British
Government, the administration was carried on under a dual
system, a tahsfidar and a staff of patwdris, paid by Government,
assessing the demand at each harvest, and the Khdn's nciih or
deputy making the actual collection.

The water of the canals is either brought to the land by
gravitation, in which case the system is known as moh% or
by the lift system {ckarkki), the water being raised by means
of Persian wheels. The main canal is known as wdk and the
branches as rdjwcih and both are maintained by Government.
From the rdjwcih^ mdlahs are taken off by the cultivators
and subsidiary channels taken from the nullahs are known
as Idr. Ihe charkhi used on the canals is either drawn by
one or two bullocks ; that drawn by two bullocks is known
as air and irrigates about 2 bighas in twelve hours ; the
other drawn by one bullock is called urla and irrigates about
i-J bighas in the same time.

The canals are generally filled in June and are generally
closed about the end 'of January.

mJ^/GATION,

The only other irrig-ation work executed by Government
is that known as the Nari Gorge scheme, by which the
permanent water of the N«iri river is taken off for the irriga-
tion of the Sibi cultivation. In former times the water was
drawn off by means of temporary or kacha dams, which
were constantly being washed away by floods. A masonry
regulator was completed in 1904 at a cost of Rs. 22,517, and
is working success tully (i905)<

The sources of irrigation are given in detail in table iV
VoL B, and include, in addition to the Nasirabdd canals,
20 streams, 19 kdreses^ 152 springs and 28 wells. Of the
total amount of land under cultivation in the administered
district in 1904-5, the area under permanent irrigation was
represented by 90 per cent, in Nasirabad, 77 per cent, in
Shdhrig, and 65 per cent, in the Sibi tahsil.

The principal streams are the Nari in Sibi tahsil ; and the
Shahrig, the Nasaka, the Tormana, the Sraghara, the Chanu-
kdn and the Shufa in the Shdhrig tahsil.

The permanent water of the Ndri is taken off at Ndri
Gorge and diverted into channels, which distribute it among
the villages in the neighbourhood of Sibi. The different
shares and the details of the distribution*^' are given un the
following table : —

Agricul-

ture.

Nilri Gorge
scheme. '

Sources of
irrigation.

Streams.

The Ni 5 ri
stream.

Serial

No.

Circle.

Mauza.

Quantity
of water.

Kurk

Ldni ...

Sifi Abdul Wahdb

1 8

Sibi

Sdfi Pirak ... ...

Bostdn

I Si

Marghazdni

Mizri ... ... ...

Dehpdl ...

Municipal Sibi

Railway Department

Bhakra Ghuldm Bolak ...

Bhakra Shakar Khdn

Kurk

) j

Usmdni

D/iwi ...

Khajak.

Gullu Shahr

Khajak ... ... ...

Total ...

* This distribution is taken from the Settlement Report of 1904.
8

| P

i,-;

AGRICUi"

tore.

Flood irri-
gation*

Springs*

„4 CHAPTER H— ECONOMIC.

Th{2 greater, portion of the flocd-water passes through to
Kachhir A small imh has, however, recently been taken
off by Walhari Khan Uarg\va.z&m, a. sammddr of Sihi, near
the Ndri station, and irrigates the Kach lands 5 miles below

wSibi. ^ • ir ui

Flood irrigation {sm'ldba] is inconsiderable except in Kohlu

and in the Talli and Mai circles of the Sibi tahsil. The
principal ffoods occur in the Lahri or Sidr river in Kohlu ;
the Mushkiif nullah, the Talli and Ndn in Sibi. There
are also numerous small mountain torrents. 'I he usual
method is to throw a mud embankment across the bed
of the river or stream to divert a portion of the water
into channels (rewA) which lead to the land required to
be irrigated. These dams, which are locally known as
syanihi or chhap, are constructed jointly by the cultivators
of each locality, the labour , and expenditure being supplied
in proportion to their shares in land. They are constructed
at interv'als along the bed of the stream, and being only
of a temporary nature are liable to be washed away or
greatly damaged by every big flood ; but they effect their
purpose by diverting a portion of the water into the irriga-
tion channels. The ganda is constructed of mud,^ broad
at the foundation and narrow at the top ; the chhap is a
species of break-water made by driving piles into the river-
bed and filling up the spaces with mud, trees and bushes.
The principal flood-water cultivation is along the banks
of the Talli stream which has four chhdps and eight gandas,
namely, Balawdh, Hdthlawah, Sangar, Safi, Khuh Mdchhi,
Kaisar, Raza, Chachar, Chandia, Makhan Bela, Korzamin,
and Gohnlmzai, The labour and time spent in the con-
struction and repair of these dams is considerable, and owing
to the uncertainty of the floods, the cultivation at its best

is precarious. . , m k-

The springs are found mostly in the Shdhrig tahsil which

has !44 out of the total of 152 in the whole district. The
area in this tahsil irrigated by springs was estimated at
4,963 acres during the Settlement of 1902.

The kdrezcs'^ are few in number and unimporta nt. In

* A full description of the history and the methods of working
hln^s is given in the Gassetteer of the Quetta^ PisMn Dhtrici, Chapter

II, pp. 142-145-

kArezes.

; at Kowas which irrigate about ;

1905 the total number was 19, of which 14 were in the Shcihrig
tahsll and 5 in Kohlu. In the former tahsil the total irri-
gable area was 549 acres, the principal kdreses being the
Lowar kcires and 'KAz kcireB
acres, and the Khushdil kcireB at Zandra which
acres.

In the Shdhrig t ahsil, owing to the limited nature of the
cultivable land and a good supply of permanent water from
streams and springs, the kcires is not an important source
of irrigation. In Kohlu, kcirezes have only been started
in comparatively recent years, but the localit}^ appears to be
favourable, and it maybe expected that their numbers will
increase considerably. The question-regarding the distances
which should be preserved between kdrezes in this locality is
under consideradon.

As, owing to various causes, the general level of kdreses
and channels appears to be gradually sinking and the
question of lowering the depth of the water-way under
bridges and culverts on the railway and military roads is
frequently raised, it will be useful, for the purposes of district
administration, to quote the following extract from a memo-
randum, dated the 4th of October 1899, t>y Major Ramsay,
CJ.E., Officiating Revenue Commissioner: —

The Agent to the Governor-General in his letter No. 3680,
dated the 28th June 1892, to the Manager, North-Western
Railway, laid down that, to avoid future disputes in every
case in which a water course for irrigation or a kdrez crosses
the railway line, the railway should obtain the signature of
the Civil Officer to some drawing or other document, expli-
citly stating that it is his wish and recommendation that the
floor of the culvert should be laid at a certain reduced
level. If after obtaining the signature of the Civil Officer
the railway built the culvert in accordance with the draw-
ing, there would be no further responsibility on the
railway. This clears up all disputes in the case of culverts
that have been lowered at the request of the Civil
Officers. If the railway have protected themselves by
obtaining the signature of the Civil Officers, they are free
from further claims. If they have not done so, they are
responsible in the same w’-ay that they would be if the culvert
had not been lowered,”

Agricul.

TURE.

Depth of
ch annels.

;i6 CHAPTER UNECONOMIC.

The orders of Government are contained m letter
No. 2444-E., dated the ist of December 1893. They are as

follows

“The railway should pay for all alterations required in

existing culverts owing to the normal deepening and repair-
ing of Idrdzes crossed by the line : the necessity for such
alterations being decided by a Committee of Civil and
Railway Officers. The Governor-General’s Agent having

the casting vote.

“ The same rule to be applied to existing Mrezes
L'ross military and other roads.

“ Regarding passage for the water of new kdreBes, the
orders are that each case is to be dealt with on its merits and
submitted separately for orders.

“ As showing what is included in the term ‘ normal deepen-
ing and repairing,’ it may be noted that the case which
gave rise to the reference to the Government was that of the
Gadezai kdreB. This culvert had to be lowered 7 feet, and
the Government decided that the railway should bear the
cost. Now as the bed could not have been lowered 7 feet
by ordinary cleaning or khatkashi, the kdreB must have been
deepened, consequently the inference is that if a zamindar
wishes to deepen his kardz, the railway is obliged to provide
a way lor his water at the cost of the railway

“ If a zaminddr wishes to have a culvert lowered, the
District Officer should ask the Executive Engineer concerned
to visit the place with him, and then submit a report showing
whether both officers agree that the work is needed.
Having come to the conclusion that it is needed, a written
statement should be taken from the sharers in the kdreB
showing how far it is proposed to lower the culvert, and also
clearly stating that the sharers are aware that the Govern-
ment will not again alter the level of the culvert except
at the cost of the sharers; further that the cost will have
to be paid in cash to the department concerned, and the
sharers will not be allowed to do the work themselves.’'

The number of irrigation wells in 1905 was 28 (23 in
Naslrabdd and 5 in Shahrig). For purposes of irrigation, the
Persian wheel {charkhi) is invariably used. The average cost
ot a masonry well in Nasirdbad, where the depth varies from

DIVISION OF WATER.

25 to 60 feet, is estimated at about Rs. 600. On the Shahiwah,
where the level is lower, the cost is sometimes estimated
at as much as Rs. 1,000. The area irrigated by a single
well varies according to its depth from 5 dig/2 as to 10 acres.

Permanent sources of water are divided into a number
of shares, the usual unit of division being the skabdnaro^
or the iow of a day and night.

The minor divisions of a shahdnaroz differ in various parts of
the district, but those in commonest use are indicated in the
following table : —

Shdhrig Tahsil.

(1) Kowds circle— The lowest unit is a fal,

8 pal I shingri.

4 shingri = i wakt.

2 wake = r shabdnaroz.

{2) Mangi circle — The lowest unit is a s/iingn.

8 shingri = i shabanaroz.

(3) iVhmadi'm circle — The lowest unit is a haa^.

2 hauz = I kanar.

8 kanar = i shabdnaroz.

(4) Kach circle — The lowest unit is a n/m shmgri :

2 nim shingri — i shingri.

2 sliingri = i sdya.

4 s^iya = I wial

2 wial = I shabdnaroz.

Sibi Tahsil.

(5) Sdngan circle — The lowest unit is a ni?n chary ah

2 nim chdryak — i charyak.

2 cheiryak = i oma.

2 oma = I shabanaroz.

2 shabdnaroz = i pakha.

Another method of dividing water in the Shdhrig tahsil is
by taghdr which is the term applied to a wooden water-divide,
which is pierced with holes according to the number of
shares in which the water is divided. The water passing-
through each hole {wadh) is carried off by a separate channel.
These channels are again sub-divided, and the turns of water
given to each plot of cultivation are determined by lot [puch-
cJia anddd). The taghdr is also sometimes made of stone.

The division of the Ndri water is carried out in the first

stance by a masonry regulator at the Ndri Gorge, wfeere

Agricul-

ture.

Division of
water.

CHAPTER II— ECONOMIC.

1 18

the water is taken off from the river. Every village has a
right to a certain number of shares which are permanently
fixed, each share being known as pdo. The pdo is divided
into iMdms, the number of which vary in different localities ;
and the is again sub-divided into rdkkis the number

of which also varies in different villages according to the
requirements of the cultivation attached to each village.
The village distribution is made by means of the skal which
resembles the iaghdr. The minor divisions are regulated by
time, and for this purpose the day and night are divided into
periods of 6 hours (clidryak) and again into periods of 3
hours {nitii chdiydk)* The time by day is calculated by means
of a rough sun dial, and at night by the position of the moon
and stars. .

In Naslnibdd the necessity for such minute divisions does
not exist and the canal water is taken off into their separate
tmliahs by the land owners. Where these nullahs do not
exist and the supply of water is small, tlie several cultivators
who hold land in one block [ihdla] receive their turns of
water by rotation [wdrabancH)^ the flow being regulated by
time. It is the rule, however, that the lands lying nearer
the source of the water have the prior claim to irrigation.
The system is known as chakhat. The internal distribution
in each block is arranged in the same way, each block being
divided into a number of small units. Thus for instance the
Dell Mai is divided into 4. blocks (thdki]^ each of which is
again sub-divided into 8 parts. The custom which allows
the lands higher up the stream to claim the prior right to
irrigation is also observed on all lands irrigated by flood
water in the Sibi tahsll and is known as sarwarkh.

There are 43 water mills in the district, of which 38 are in
Shah rig and 5 in Sibi. The stones used in Sibi and Shdhrig
are imported from Amritsar and Multjin in the Punjab, and
cost from Rs. 30 to Rs. 40 ; in the Zidrat hills they are
obtained locally from the Warozha and Sagar hills near
Warchi'im and Ahmaddn.

Mills are generally constructed by the owners of the land
and water, and the initial expenditure varies from about Rs.
150 to Rs. 300. The miller [asewdn] is usually given about
one-fourth of the proceeds as his wages, and the owner pays
the Government revenue. The out-turn of a mill varies with

I^ENTS, WAGES AND PRICES.

IIC)

the water power. It is, estimated at about 2^ to 7^ maunds
in Shdhrig and about 5 maunds in Sibi in a day of 12 hours.
The charge for grinding [mu^ or shdgirddria) is generally
levied in the shape of a share of the corn to be ground, and
is about one-twentieth judr and maize and one twenty-lifth
of wheat.

In parts of the district where there are no mills, grinding
is left entirely to the women and is done with the quern or
hand mill [mechan) consisting of two grooved stones about
a foot and a half in diameter.

Reference will be found to the character of the tenures and
the tenancies in the district in a subsequent section. As
might be expected in a backward country in which crops
are liable to great variations, rent almost always consists
in a share of the grain heap.

In. such cases the distribution in unirrigated lands is
generally made on the principle of an assignment of one-
fourth of the produce for each of the chief requisites of
cultivation, i.e., the land, seed, bullocks and labour. In
irrigated lands a further share is assigned for the water.
Variations occur in different parts of the district and in the
distribution of the produce on various kinds of land, and a
brief account is, therefore, given of the rates generally pre-
valent in each tahsil.

In Nasirdbad, the revenue, water rate and the cess on
canal irrigated lands are paid by the landlord, the tenant
supplying seed, bullocks and labour. After deducting from
2 to 4 kdsas from each khanmir for miscellaneous expenses,
the produce under flow hrlg ^tio n {moki) is divided equally
bet^veeii landlord and the tenant; under lift irrigation
{clmrkki) their respective shares are two-fifths and three-
fifths. Under both systems, if the tenant provides labour
only, he is entitled to one-half of the produce, and the land-
lord has the right to feed his cattle on the green fodder. To
these general rules there are some exceptions in respect of
lands irrigated by flow, as for instance In the Sohbatpur
circle, where the landlord’s share is three-fifths of all crops,
except wheat of which he gets two-fifths. In the Khdnpur
tappai the landlord receives five-ninths in all villages except-
ing Mamal, where his share is three-fifths.

Agricul-

ture.

Hand mills.

Rents,
Wag.es and
Prices.
Rents.

Produce
rents,
method of
distribution
of the grain
heap.

Nasirdb;dd

tabsil.

120

CHAPTER II--EC 0 N 0 MIC.

Rents,
Wagi-:s and
Pricks.

13 crop
lands ii 2 the
Naslrdb/id
tal'isll.

, Sibi tahsll.

Shabrig

tahsi'l.

Kohlu lahsi'l.

Cash rents.

In the case of dry-crop lands the tenant generally finds the
seedj bullocks and labour, and receives half the produce
after the Government share has been deducted. But if the
landlord provides the bullocks, his share is three-fourths of
the net produce.

In the irrigated lands of the Sibi tahsi! the usual arrange-
ment is that the tenant provides labour and the bullocks,
and, after the revenue has been deducted from the gross
produce^ pays the landlord from two-fifths to one-half of the
balance. When the tenant provides labour only, the land-
lord’s share varies from one-half to five-sixths. In dry crop
lands the tenant generally supplies the seed, labour and
bullocks, and pays the landlord from one-twentieth to one-
tenth of the net produce, but if he supplies labour only, the
landlord receives from one-fourth to one-half.

In irrigated lands in the Shahrig tahsil when the tenant
supplies the labour only, he generally receives one-sixth of
the produce, the revenue demand being paid by the landlord ;
with these exceptions that in the Shahrig circle his share is
one-fourth of the rice crop, and in the Harnai circle one-tenth
of the wheat. When the tenant finds the labour and bul-
locks, he receives one-third of the produce, the revenue being
paid by both the landlord and tenant in proportionate shares.
When he also provides seed, the produce is equally divided
between him and the landlord. In dry crop areas the rent
{bohcii) is generally one-tenth of the net produce, the tenant
providing all requisites.

in the irrigated lands of the Kohlu tahsil, when the tenant
supplies Inbour only, he pays two-thirds of the net produce
to the landlord, but if he supplies tlie seed, labour and bul-
locks, the produce is equally divided. In khushkdba lands,
when the tenant supplies labour only, he pays the landlord
two-thirds ; when he supplies labour and bullocks, one half ;
and when he supplies labour, bullocks and seed, from one
fifth to one-fourth.

In other cases the rates are settled by mutual agreement.

As already remarked, cash rents are rare. They prevail
only in the municipal lands at Sibi and Harnai, and in certain
parts of the Nasirdbdd tahsil. The rates for the Sibi munici-
pal lands vary from Rs. 2-8 to Rs. 4 per acre ; the municipal
lands at Harnai pay Rs. 10 per acre, which includes revenue

WAGES.

I2I

as well as rent ; while the rates in Nasirdbad range from
Rs. 2 to Rs. lo per acre, the revenue demand, water rate and
cess being paid by the landlord.

No cooly class exists among the cultivating population ;
tenants-at-will perform certain services for the landlords,
whilst the household work of the richer men is performed by
their servile dependants. In the Sibi tahsil, at harvest time,
the labourers, who are generally Brahui nomads and Jats
from Kachhi and include men, women and children, receive a
share of the crop, generally one-twentieth. In Kohiu, a
fixed quantity of grain is given daily to each reaper, the
average rates being 6 seers of grain for boys, lo seers for
women and 12 seers for the men. In Shahrig, the crops
are usually gathered by the Bciminddrs themselves, but if
labourers are employed, they are given from 5 to 6 seers of
grain a day. In Nasirabdd, the wages are paid , partly in
cash and partly in kind and vary in different circles, the aver-
age rate for men being from 3 to 4 annas and 3 to pdiis
of grain per diem.

Shepherds are generally engaged by the year, and are
given their food, a proportion of the lambs and kids born
during the year, part of the wool and occasionally clothes.
In Sibi, a shepherd receives annually, in addition to clothes
and shoes, two sheep or goats for every ten animals entrust-
ed to his charge, 6 kdsas (42 seers) of wheat, the same
quantity of jiiar and from 4 to 5 rupees in cash. In the
Shdhrig tahsil, when the cattle belong to several persons, the
usual wages are half a of grain per animal per month
in addition to his food, which is supplied in turn by the
different owners. When the flock belongs to one man, the
wages of the shepherd are paid at the following rates
from October to March i/6th of the male and r/2oth of the
female lambs born during the year; from April to July one
rupee for every ten sheep and goats, i seer of aiia per diem
and a pair of shoes ; and from August to September i/4th of
the woo! shorn from the flock. In Kohiu, a shepherd
receives, besides food, 12 rupees per annum, i /6th of the
wool, and I /6th of the male and i/i5th of the female Iambs
and kids born during the year. In Nasirdbad the wages are
usually paid in cash and vary from 2 to 3 rupees a month in
addition to food.

Rents,
Wages and
Prices.

Wages.

Shepherds,
goatherds
and cattle
herds.

I 22

CHAPTER II— ECONOMIC.

Kents,
Wages and
Prices.

Caiiieli'ierds.

Village

servants.

Camelherds in Sibi receive 8 annas per camel per annum,
and in Nasirabad a fixed wage of about 4 rupees per men-
seiii in addition to food. In Kohiu, the usual remuneration
is I rupee and 12 seers of grain per camel per annum.

Each important village has one or more headmen, whose
remuneration is- mentioned in the section on Land
Revenue. There is also • general!}^ b. mulld who conducts
prayers, teaches children and officiates at marriage, funeral
and other domestic ceremonies, and who lives by the fees,
alms and rjakdi of the villagers. The Bakdl is supposed to
comprise i/iothof the produce from land and i/40th from
the live-stock ; but this portion is not set aside in all cases,
and in the course of time the tithe has been compounded for
a fixed payment in kind. Thus, in the Sibi tabs 11 , the midki
is entitled at the harvest time to 2 kdsas (14 seers) of grain
from each heap, one kdsa being dedicated as an offering to
the Prophet and being known as the rasdlwde^ while the
other is given in the name of the Kordn, and is called the
Kordnmk. In Kohiu, the cultivators pay their miUlds in the
month of Ramzan at the rate of 3 seers of grain for every
male member of the community. In the Nasirabdd sub-
division, in addition to the ordinary nmlld^ each large village
maintains a saicid muqim (local saiad), a saiad murshid
(spiritual guide} and a inaiilvi sdhiby the duty of the last
named being to interpret the law and to arbitrate in cases
affecting inheritance, matrimony and domestic occurrences.
The saiad muqim receives about a kharwdr of grain at each
harvest, or a plot of land rent free which is known as the
sdri mirdn. The saiad murshid is given i rupee per annum
for every male in the community, the donation being known
as thuk or dan. The remuneration of the maulvi sahib
varies in different areas, but consists generally of a plot of
land rent free, and from i to 2 kharwdrs of grain per
annum.

The only ubiquitous village servant is the blacksmith
who makes and repairs the implements of husbandry, but
in many places the carpenter, the water superintendent
(rais jamaddr or ndib)^ the water and the crop watcher
[tohae]^ the barber, the guest server {ddva or darhd?i), the
potter, the minstrel Uanga or diim)^ the snake doctor
• A = maunds.

WAGES.

,1:23

{mdnmila) and the locust charmer (malakhwdla or pir mcikar)
are also met with.

The blacksmiths in Nasirdbad and Sibi and the carpenters
in Shdhrig receive no fixed remuneration, but are paid in
cash according' to their work. In the Shahrig villages, the
annual pa5mient made to the blacksmith consists of as large
m a load of harvested wheat as he* can carry off, i kcisa
(5 seers) of grain for each shahdnaroB of water and a piece of
dried meat in winter. Each fiockowner also gives him the
mi'ool shorn from a single sheep and the butter extracted
from one milking of the whole hock in spring. Blacksmiths
in Kohlu receive one-fortieth of the produce of the kharif
and rahi harvests, 4 seers of grain for every 5 maunds sown.
2 seers of grain in summer from every household, one-tenth
of the meat dried by each family for use in winter, and
one-tenth of the meat of sheep and goats slaughtered on
special occasions. A.s is the case in Shdhrig he also receives
from flockowners the wool shorn from a single sheep and
the butter extracted from one milking of the whole hock.
In the Nasirabdd tahsil the wages of the carpenters vary,
but consist approximately of about 22 dark or 3 maunds
17 seers per urla (water lift worked by i bullock). In
the irrigated villages of the Sibi tahsil -a carpenter receives
10 kdsas oijudr for every dahdna of water and i kfiar^dr
(io| maunds) of wheat for every of water, whilst in the
khiishkdha tracts the wages vary from 2 to 4 kdsas of judr.

The water superintendent {rais^ ndib or jamaddr), who is
in charge of the division of water and of the maintenance ot
water channels, is compensated in some places by a special
allowance of land and water free from rent and in others by
payment in grain at fixed rates. The tohae or water watcher
is known in Sibi only and receives 12 maunds of wheat at
^ the harvest and 20 maunds of yz/a/' at the kharif. The
saminddrs of lAz.sixAh'kd employ kardwahs ox crop watchers
whose wages vary from Rs. 4 to Rs. 5 per mensem.

Potters are found in the Nasirabad and Sibi tahsils only,
and in the former receive fixed wages, generally in kind,
varying from 6 darts to 3 kdsas per jora.

A minstrel {langa or dtim) is maintamed in all the more
^ important villages, and is remunerated ordinarily by alms
and gifts given on special occasions, but in some places he is

Rents,
Wages and
Prices.

124

CHAPTER II— ECONOMIC.

Rents,
Wages and
Prices.

Sweepers*

Labourers.

also paid certain fixed allowances of grain, which vary in
each tahsll and sometimes in the different villages of

a tahsil.

The mcirwcila or snake doctor is found in the Kolilu tahsii
onivj and receives a fixed allowance of 2 seers of wheat at
the rahi harvest from each family.

Locust charmers are also met with in the Nasirabdd and
Kohlu tahsils where they are known as pir mdkar and
maltikhwdia respectively. The former ordinarily reside in
Sind and only visit the district when their services .are
required ; on such occasions they are usually presented with
a sheep or g’oat. In Kohlu one Mug'hal Shfih, a Saiad of
Chotiali, is the recognised nialakhwdla and receives a
regular payment at the rate of 4 annas per jora at each
harvest.

Sweepers are found in the Nasirdbdd tahsii only, and are
known as hdldishdJii^ and their remuneration consists of three
quarters of a of grain per kharwdr at each harvest, or
about Rs. 3 per mensem in addition to food.

Cooiy work proper is a peculiarity ot the industrial centres,
which have grown up since the British occupation, and in
which a plentiful supply of labour from Makrfin, Afghdnistdn,
Sind and the Punjab is always to be found. Before the
opening of the railway, the rates paid to this class were high,
but in 1893 efforts were made by the principal Government
Departments to reduce monthly wages to Rs. 10 or 5 annas
a day. In 1901, suggestions were made for the adoption of
ii daily rate of 5 annas 4 pies a day, but except in Nasirabdd
and Kohlu the rate remains at about 6 annas a day. In the
coal mines at Khost, the colliers earn from Rs. 12 to Rs. 15
per mensem according to the nature of their work. Good
Afghdii navies can also earn 8 annas a day.

Domestic servants and almost all skilled labourers are
imported from India, chiefly from Sind and the Punjab, and
their wedges are higher than those usually prevalent in India.
The rates of pay for menial servants, such as sweepers,
bhishfies, chaukiddrs and office peons vary from Rs. 8 to
Rs. 10 per mensem. The wages of skilled labourers and
artisans vary from Rs. 30 to Rs. 45. Indigenous coolies,
when employed as day labourers by the local people, are
paid their wages at the following rates -In Nasirdbdd an

WAGES.

125

ordinary cooly receives 4 annas per diem, a rice-husker Rents,
Rs. 3-8 per kharwdr, a bricklayer from Re. i to Rs. 2 per 1,000
bricks and a weaver Re. i per 42 yards of cloth {kkadar).

In Sibi a cooly gets 3 annas per diem with food, whilst in the
Shdhrig tahsil he is given 4 annas per diem. Ploughmen in
Shdhrig are given, besides food, 4 pa^/is of grain per man
per diem, the bullocks and plough being supplied by the
mminddr.

Kdres digging, which is a special occupation, is in the A^'dres
hands of trans-border Afghans, chiefly Ghilzais, who visit the
district in winter. They generally work in parties of four,
and, in addition to such other payment as may be agreed
upon, usually receive food from their employers. Kdreses
are found only in the Shdhrig and Kohlu tahsils, and the
food allowance ordinarily consists of 35 seers of wheat,

I rupee on account of meat and ^hi and a seer of salt and
half a seer of tobacco per man per month. The owner also
supplies the windlass {charkh)^ all necessary tools, oil for
lamps and loin cloths {lang). The money wages, paid in
addition to the food allowances, vary with the nature of the
soil in which the Mres is extracted, and the following rates
may be regarded as fairly representative : —

Shdhrig Rates.

\a) For a well 3 feet long, 2 feet broad and 4 feet deep,

Re. I to Rs. 1-8.

{b} Tunnel 4 feet long, 2 feet broad and 3 feet high,

Re. 1-4 to Re. 1-8.

Kohlu Rates.

[d) For a well 5 yards deep Re. i

ip) Tunnel 3I yards long.. ,, i

(<;) Open channel 16 yards long*,,. ,, 1

On the Begdriwdh, wages for digging old channels vary
from Re. 1*9 to Rs. 7-6, and those for digging new ones from
Rs. 2 to Rs. 14 per 1,000 cubic feet. In the Shdhiwdh,
wages for the former vary from Rs. 2 to Rs. 5-8 and those for
the latter from Rs. 4 to Rs. 8 per 1,000 oubic feet.

Wheat is the staple food grain in the highlands, and Prices.
judr in the tahsils of Sibi and Nasirdbdd, Firewood and
chopped straw for fodder also form important items in the
domestic economy.

126

CHA PTER -II -ECONOMIC.

Nasinibdd i2| seers per rupee.

Sibi ... ... ... i2| do.

Shdhrig ... ... 12 do.

Jacobdbdd ... ... 12 dc.

Shikdrpur 14 do.

MiilUin ... ... ... 14! clo.

Montgomery ... ... 16 do.

Lahore ... ... ... 16 do.

Before British occupation the seer in general use consisted
of 88 tolas. Indian weights, with a seer of 80 tolas and a
maund of 40 seers, have now been introduced throughout the
district. The weights in general use are those of 5 seers,
2^ seers, 2 seers, 1 seer, | seer, pcio or I seer, adk pdo or I
seer, chittack, half-chittack and duka or one-fourth of a

Rents,
Wages and
Prices,

The prices of staple articles for each tahsi! for the twelve
years ending with 1904 are shown in table X, Vol. B. The
average price of wheat in the Sibi tahsll during this period
was i4i seers per rupee, the lowest rate being 9I seers in
February 1897, and the highest 20 seers in February 1895.

The average rate oi judv in the same tahsil for the twelve
years ending with 1904 was 2r seers to the rupee, the
lowest being io| seers in July 1900 and the highest 32
seers in February 1894. In 1905 the average price of wheat
was i2| seers per rupee and of jndf 14JJ; seers.

Writing in 18S7 in connection with the conversion of the
revenue levied in kind in certain villages in the Pishin Dis-
trict into cash assessment, Sir Oliver St John said : ® The

prices of wheat in Quetta and the assigned districts in future
years will, it would seem, be mainly governed, like those in
Northern India, by the English market. The present is an
abnormally dear year, wheat has been scarce in the Punjab and
too dear for export to England. The railway has therefore
exercised little influence on prices here. Supposing, however,
that wheat falls to its normal price in the Punjab
and Sind, it is obvious that its cost in Quetta should
fall to the rate prevailing at Sukkur plus the cost of transport
from Sukkur to Quettad’ The truth of these words is ex-
emplified by the approximation of prices in places on or near
the railway line with those prevailing in Sind and parts of
the Punjab as shown in the following table which gives
the price of wheat in Februa|*y 1905

12^- seers per

do.

dc.

do.

I 4 f

do.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES,

127

chittack. Bulky articlevS, such as coal, fuel, fodder are usually
dealt with in large bazars by the maund of ba or 100 lbs.
Spring balances are also used by some of the shopkeepers in
the larger bazars, but the people of the country still mistrust
this method of u eighment.

The weights used by the goldsmiths are those in use in
other parts of India, the lowest unit being a inting or grain ;
2 make i 7 'atti^ 8 I'cittis i mdsha and 12 ijidshas i tola.

The rupee, eight-anna, four-anna, and two-anna pieces are
also used as weights, representing respectively i tola^ 6
mdshas, 3 mdshas^ and a tndsha and half.

Outside the towns and bazars grain is still sold by wooden
measures and not by weight, these measures being of differ-
ent capacity in different parts of the district. The following
are the measures in ordinary use

Nasirdbdd TahslL

[a] Area irrigated by Shahiwdh canal. Toya is the unit
which contains about 6f chittacks of milng.

2 toya =
2 pdti =:
4 pinki =
4 dari =
4 pai =
10 toka =

I pdti
I pinki
I dari
I pai
I toka
I kharwar.

ip) Area irrigated by the Begadwdh.

I . Mamal village.

Toya ( i 7’28 chittacks) is the unit.

6| to} a “ I dari
16 dari = I toka
10 toka — I kharwdr,

II. Rojhdnand the Muhammadpur exclusive of

Ndia Shdhalzai.

containing 12 chittacks the unit.

9 toya = I dari
16 dari = i toka
24 tO}a = I kdsa
6 kdsa = I toka
10 toka = I kharwar.

Weights
AND Mea-
sures.

Troy

weights.

Measures of
grain.

128

CHAPTER IH^ECONOMIC,

Weights
and Mea-
sures.

!IL Ndla Shdhaizai and the Sirwdh /a//a.
is the /oyi containing 4I chittacks of

The unit

4 toyi or chuthai
4 pdti
4 toy a
30 kdsa

pdti
toya
kdsa
khai

kharwdr.

2 khai

The weights of different kinds of grains vary, the average
proportion of a kh{mmr of grain of each kind being as
follows : —

nn'iiig

maunds.

wheat

™ 26

do.

juar

= 25

do.

bdjri

■ = 26|

r do.

sarshaf

= 22

do.

gram

== 27

do.

kunjud

= 20

do.

Id rang

=== 10

do.

Kohlti TahsiL

I. Among the Marris the unit is the chuthai containing
chiitacks of wheat.

2 1 chuthai =

2 nim pinki =

2 pinki =

2 mdngo =

2 topa =

2 pai “

10 kdsagh =

2 tang =

3 khai or gawane=
IL Among the Zarkdns the

about ^Ith of a seer of wheat.

2 lap =

I 4 pdn =

2| tsioram ==

I nim pinki
I pinki
I mango
i topa
I pai
I kasagh
I tang

I khai or gawdne
I kharwdr
tap is the unit containing

pdn

tsioram

== 1 paropi

1 1 paropi = I path

2 ^ path = I topa

40 topa = I ghund.

The weight eijudr and barley is i and 2 chittacks per seer
respectively less than that of wheat, while the weight of
'ajri^ china and mfmg is equal to that of wheat.

JVMIGIITS AND 3 IEASURES.

129

Sibi TahsiL

1. Circles other than Sdngdii.

The unit is the paropi or

ikdia containing if chittacks

wheat.

2 paropi

= i mdnga

2 mdnga

== I pinki

4 pink!

= I topa

4 topa

= I kasa

30 kdsa

= I bori

2 bori

= I kharwdr or kharar.

IL Sdngdn circle.

The unit is the paropi or

pmki containing 6 chittacks

wheat.

4 paropi or pinki = i topa or path

4 topa or path = i kasa

10 kdsa

— I kharwdr

The weight of a Msa of each kind of grain at Sibi is

under i —

wheat

== 7 seers

mi'ing

-= 8 do.

moth

= 7 or 8 seers

bdjri

=== 7 seers

ti!

— 5 do.

judr

“ 6 to 7 seers

coriander

== 3 seers

sarshaf

== 6 do.

barley

5 do.

Weights
AND. Mea-
sures.

I seer,

In SAngin the kasa of wheat or rice is taken as weisfhins-

to to

6 seers.

IIL In Qiiat-Mandai the unit is the puiki (wheat
judr -| seer).

8 pinkis make i dari and 20 daris make i kdsa.

Shdhrig TahsiL
Kach and Kowds circles.

Mdnga is the unit containing 10 chittacks of wheat.
2 mdnga == i path
4 path = I kdsa
50 „kdsa^ =

CHAPTER II— ECONOMIC.

WniGHT.S
. ANB

laiseoiis
‘SIC* a S', ires.

Linear

measures.

Superiicia!

measures.

130

li: Other circles. ^ ^ . . 1

Lap (handful) is the unit, containing approximate.v 2

cliittacks of wheat.

2 lap
2 tsloram
2 mdnga
10 path
20 shdnak

tsloram

mdnga

path

shdiiak

I afhind.

Tn the hi-hknds, screen fodder, such as lucerne or nrjaize,
is tually .o^d as standing crop by kur,as or plots the area
of which vanes, and bundles of dry lucerne {mora) are sola

''\n'!he'^ns standing crops such as Jimr and green corn

J sold by the square cubit (katk hath. - BMsa kach-

KOW.S sold

fhe'l1!'Venrrallv sold by the camel, donkey, or bullock ^oad,
or by Ihe/d/f or load which a man can carry on his b.mk.
It is also sold by the irangar or sack load.

tl.. town, and bat-am, the atandard yard ol or

-6 inch., i. need, bat the people of the conntty st.ll employ
?he cobit (/.««). The latter ie an indeUmte meaaore wh.ch
‘rfe, with the statute of the customer, and .s measured from
the projecting bone of the customer’s elbow round the end ot
the Middle finger, when extended straight, and back to the
lol knuckle jdnt. In every village there is generally a

r» whose is considered as the standard ot mea.snre-

meat and who Is referred to In .11 cases o. dispute. In
Shdhtig and Kohlu a Ul. make . Kali., or ^dahin yard,
.„d a standard yard is equal to if Mths. In Naswabdd a
MRi is equal to i foot and 9I inches in length, i j kaihs^ being
equal to a standard yard. In Sibi, the local measure in use
is\he gasi which is about 7 gira/is m length. Cloth is a s
measured by the Imih (about 10 girahs), if haihs being equa

'“urins’thtrenl'emen. in Shdhrig and Sibi, the measures
adopted were acres, roods and poles, and these are beginning
to be recognised by the people. In the revenue papers in
Nasirdbad, the area is shown in kans, smijtn, ga ant
acres ; 16 karis making i chain {eanjir) and 40 .square sanjirs
or gatJuu i acre. In the greater part ot the district, how-

IVEIGBTS AND 3 IEASmES. 151,

ever^ irrigated land is known by the proportion of water
attached to it^ while iinirrigated laiid is sold by joras, yavgu
or bands, Tims, the land and water under a permanent
source of irrigation are both divided, and the amount of land
is recognised which is attached to a shahdmiroB or rdliki of
water or other minor division. The term j^ra is frequently
used, but has no definite value, merely denoting the amount of
land that can be ploughed by a pair of oxen in twelve hours.
In Nasirdbads the usual local standard of measurement is the
kmiUy which is 5 cubits [haths) in length and equal to 74- stand-
ard feet ; 20 square Mnas making i ninswa^ 20 wzswas i jarib
or btgah^ :ind 2jarlbs i acre, which, according to this calcula-
tion, comprises 45,00a square feet or 5,000 square yards, be-
ing* 160 square yards in excess of the standard acre.

The measure of distance throughout the district is the
kos of aboil I: 2 miles.

People who resort to the towns and frequently come
in contact with Government oflicials know the English
months, but, as a general rule, in that part of the dis-
trict where Pashtii is spoken, the Muhammadan lunar
year is still observed. The Arabic names of the months and
their local equivalents are given below : —

Arabic name.

Local month.

Remarks.

Mu bar ram

Safar

Hasan-Husain.

Safar-Sapar or Saparrah.

Rabi-ul-awal ...

Rabi-iiS'sdoi

jriinadi-al-awnl.

Olnai, Uormai, Urmai or
Lumrai Khor and Awalam
Klior.

Doem, Dimia, Dauma or
Duniia Khor.

Dream or I'ream khor or
Dre-a ma khor.

The Wanechis cali it
Fezani khor.

jamadi-ul-sani...

Rajab ...

Tsioram or Tsre Khor... ...

Khudai Midsht, Mdsht or
M/ist and Khudai Tdla
Mist.

The Wanechis call
it Balami Khor.

Sbabfiii ...

Barit ir ... ... ...

1 ,

i The Zarktin.s cal] it
Rasil Miist.

WiiGai's

ANB

Measures..

M easy, re of
ti'Tie.

132

CHAPTER II-— ECONOMIC,

Weights

AN0 Arabic name.

Ml? A CTTPI^C

Local -mo nth.

Remarks.

RaniZcln...

Roza or Ramzan Mias.

ShaWal

* Urkai or Wurkai Akhtar,
Alak or Halag Akhtar or
Kuchanai Akhtar.

ZU|ad ...

Manz! Mian, Man) iVIiin, or

Manz Miast, or Wara Akh-
tar Midst.

Zilliaj ...

Loe-Akhtar or Loe-Id.

In other parts of the district the months in use are those

observed by Hindus in Northern India and are Wisakh,
Jdth, Arhar, Sanwanr, Bhadra, Asu or Asdn, Katen or katin,
Manghar or Maghar, Fob, Mangh, Phagunr or Phagan

and Chetra.

The seasons recognised b)" cultivators and flockowneis arc

described in the section on Agriculture. The days of the
week are those recognised by Muhammadans, Friday [jiiinct)
being the first day. The names of the days in the Pashti'i
speaking districts are Juma (Friday), Hafta (Saturday),
Yakshamba (Sunday), Doshamba (Monday), Sehshamba (Tues-
day), Charshamba (Wednesday), Panjshamba (Thursday) :
and in Sibi and Nasirdbad. Juma, Chhanchanr or Sakhri,
Achar or Artwdr, Sumar, Angdra, Arba and Khamis.

The divisions of the day most generally recognised are
those connected with the Muhammadan hours of prayer, viz.,
sahar (morning), tnapashin or ntmds-i-peshin (afternoon),
mazigat or niindz-^i^digdr (sunset) and mdkhustan or nimds-t-
khnfian {9 to xo p.m).

Before the British occupation the kalddr or British Indian
rupee was sparsely used, the coins most generally current in
that part of the district which was under Afghan rule being
known as Zamdn sh^hi or Kdbuli and Kandahari. In Nasird-
bdd the Ikeshdhi rupees introduced by the Mirs of Khairpur
(Sind) formed the standard coinage. At the present time
Indian money is exclusively used throughout the District,

MATERIAL CONDITION OF THE PEOPLE. 133,

the names given to each coin in the different areas being as Weights
lollows : Measures.

Name of coin.

Sib} and Nasi ra-
bid tahsi'Is.

Shihrig.

Rupee ... Kaidir, rupia or Rupi, kaldir, ru- Riipai or
rupayo. pia, kaldirae or rupi.

chehra shahi«

Eight - anna Adhri-abbisi or Kandahiri, baba- Abisi^ or ha-
piece. nima rupia. si,abisi, nimkai bisi.

athani.

Four - anna Pioli ... ... Piola, paoplijpioli Misg'iii or

piece. or choani. pae.

Two - anna vShahi ... ... Shihi or doani ... Shihi^ or

piece. si hi.

Adh-shihi

... Ana

Ana.

Haif-anna

Half-pice

Taka, tako or Dabal paisa or Dabal or
adhani. taka. taka.

Paisa or paiso ... Pais

Adhela or m'm

... Paisa or
paiso.

Nim paisa or
nim paiso.

Pie Pii or pihi ... | Piwae Pii.

The bulk of the people are poor, but there has been a
steady improvement in their condition generally throughout
the District since British occupation, consequent on a settled
Government, the cessation of internal feuds and an immunity
from external raids. The railway and the extension of roads
have also opened out better markets, and straw, fuel and
fodder, which formerly had little or no value, now fetch good
prices. The increase or prosperity is especially marked in
the Nasirfibdd sub-divisioii, where the extension of the Sind
canals has changed the bulk of the inhabitants from nomad
tribesmen living in tents and dependent on a precarious dry-
crop cultivation into a body of settled and fairly well-to-do
agriculturists. The more prosperous condition of the country
is shown by the higher price of land and water, the better
material used for dress both by men and women, the exten-
sion of agriculture, in the improvements of the villages and

Material

Condition

OF THE

People.

S34

CmPTER lI-^-ECGiVOMrc.

aiATjiRiAL ill the general rise in the bride price (7w/wzr) and marriage
r:(nDiTi o X expenses.

PKOPhK. Writing in 1902111 connection with the decade j iSgi^-igoi,
Major Tiglie, the Political Agent, said Khushkdba cultiva-
tion and crops irrigated from flood water from rivers and
torrents has been extended to a very great extent. The
extension of communications has been steadily carried on
within the last ten years and roads have been gradually
opened out in the outlying parts of the District. These
roads have had a great political effect in tranquillizing the
country and opening* out inter-communications between the
tribes. They have also had the effect of increasing trade
between the different parts of the District. The value of
land has increased considerably since the advent of the
Eifitish Government, and this is chiefly owing to the establish-
ment of a settled Government and the consequent general
feeling of security/’'

But this same improvement in the general condition of the
country and the feeling" of security, alluded to above, has led
to a higher standard of living and among some of the
Zarninddrs to habits of extravagance. This, coupled with the
fact that money can easily be borrowed, has brought about a
state of indebtedness in certain parts of the District, which
has already been mentioned in the section on Agriculture
This condition has been aggravated by a cycle of unfavour-
able seasons, which have lately visited the District and have
added greatly to the difficulties of those' cultivators who are
dependent on dry-crop cultivation. The Marris and Bugtis,
whose conditions are somewhat different to the inhabitants of
the administered areas, are dealt with separately in Chapter V,

The district possesses fifteen forests, covering an area of
ArevticSer ' miles. Juniper [fimlperus excelsa)^ wild olive

forest. [Oiea cnspfdaia)^ skisham [Dalbef'gia sissii)^ tamarisk [jhmi)

{Tivnarix Indie a) ^ babiil {Acacia Arabic ci)\ kandi {Prosopis
spicigeni)^ karil {Capparis aphylla) and pUu [Salmdora). are
the principal trees.

The forests of Pil, Shahiddn, Zargat, Dehpdl, Gulu Siialir,
Abdul Khdli, Lahri, Ndri bank, ' Baklira and ,Wdm Tangi
were reserved in 1890, Wdm Kach in 1891, Talli in 1892,

» Section on Agricultural Indebtedness, Chapter 11 — Economic,
pages 102-104.

FOI^ESTS.

135

Goliar and Kacii Mdiigi in 1894, Torshor and Sdrg’hund in
1.895 Batsargi in 1904.

The juiiipQf forests which cover an area of about 68 square
miles are Pit (15280 acres)^ Shahiddn (2,520 acres), Zargat
(2,760 acres), Goliar (1,500 acres), Kach Mangi (9,400 acres),
Sdrghmid (7,500 acres), and Batsargi {7,680 acres), all in
the vicinity of Zidrat in the Zidrat range and Torshor
in the Zarghiin hills*

Oiie«third of the area of the Kach Mdngi reserve is available
ill rotation for the grazing of cattle and flacks belonging to
certain individual right owners ; and certain villages are per-
mitted to pasture a limited number of cattle and flocks in a
portion of the Gohar forest which has been specially marked
off for this purpose. The question regarding the grazing in
the Basargi reserve is still under consideration (1905.)
With these exceptions, the remainder of the reserves are
closed to grazing.

Sdrghiind (total area 16,000 acres) lies partly in the Quetta"
Pishiii and partly in the Sibi District. The portion in Sibi
has an area of 7,500 acres, and the Sarangzai, Timarzai and
the Braimzai tribes have the right of pasture in certain select-
ed portions of this area.

The Torshor reserve (ir,ooo acres) is situated in the Zar-
ghdn range,, and is bounded on the w^est by the Quetta forest
reserves of North and Central Zargdidn. Certain Dihnars
have the right to pasture a limited number of their flocks and
herds within one-third of the area in such localities as may be
fixed from time to time by the Forest Department. Outside
these reserves the juniper is also found more or less in 5osquare
miles in the neighbourhood of Zidrat.

The jumper in these forests is almost gregarious, but i^
mixed with an underwood of Zarga [Primus ehurned) and
Mdkhi [Caragand)^ other trees met with are the ash and pista-
chio, which, however, are not found in any great numbers.
The juniper only grows in hilly country,, and apparently there
are two essentials to its existence, viz., absolute altitude,
that is to say, it must have a certain minimum altitude, and
relative altitude, that is, its absolute altitude must be less
than that of the hills in the ' neighbourhood , which afford it
protection. ■ , Subordinate to these conditions there must be
a certain' degree of moisture,

Foeests.

jiinipejr

reserves.

Jtioiper.

Forests.

SkishiOH and
olive re-
herves.

136 ■ CHAPTER II-^ECONOMIC.

In places where these favourable conditions exist, accompa-
nied by limestone forma An or limestone mixed with other
stones, the juniper is generally found at altitudes from 6,500
to 8,500 feet, but more vigorously from 8,000 to 8,500 feet
The wood is light, and, though' not strong, withstands the
action of moisture to a remarkable degree. It is used for
making water channels house posts and beams.

Ill the highlands the bark of the tree is largely used for roof-
ing huts, and temporary shelters known as manhas. The
trees are extremely slow in growth and never attain a great
height, few being over 60 or 70 feet. The fruit, which is
known as pcilo by the Pathdns, appears in spring and is
believed by the people to ripen in the third year. For food
the berries are boiled in a small quantity of water, when they
become like jelly and are blackish in colour. After extracting
the kernels, the jelly, wdiich is locally known as dosha^ is
eaten by the poorer classes and more especially in times of
scarcity. It is also believed to be a cure for colds. The jelly
is sometimes mixed with ghi and used for lining the skins
l^ik) in which ghi is stored, as the resinous substance sticks
to the skin and prevents percolation. The green leaves are
also used for medicinal purposes. Up to the present time
the berries have not been found to be of any commercial
value. No experiments seem to have been made in the
artificial reproduction of juniper, and the Extra Assistant
Conservator states that measures on a large scale for
artificial reproduction are not practicable for want of
sufiicient moisture and on financial grounds. In the closed
areas natural regeneration is showing signs of improvement,
but it has not been uniformly successful owing chiefly to
the impoverish ment of the soil, caused by heavy browsing
previous to reservation.

The shishmn is found in the forest reserves of \^^dm
Tangi (area 1,233 acres) and olive in Wdm Kach (2,320
acres). Both these reserves are situated in the hilly
country to the north-west of Harnai in the Shahrig tahsiL
The shishmn {sissti) is indigenous to this part of the country,
and is found up to a height of about 4,000 feet ; the growth
IS, however, small and the largest trees seldom exceed a
height of 35 feet with a girth of from 3 to 4 feet. The wood
is hard and durable, does not warp and is highly esteemed

FORESTS.

for ali purposes where strength and elasticity are required. Forests.
Most of these trees are fit for fuel and the number of those
that can yield valuable timber is small. The wild olive,
which is locally known as kahu or showan^ is also found in
considerable quantities, but the growth is scattered, and the
trees seldom attain a height of more than 15 feet. The
wood is hard and durable, and is largely used for agricultural
purposes and for beams, and also makes good fuel. The
leaves are also used for feeding goats, and oil is occasional-
ly extracted from the fruit. This is small in size and of an
acid flavour, and, except as mentioned above, does not
appear to be used otherwise for either domestic or medicinal
purposes. The wild olive is also found in the Torkhan hills
of the Shahrig tahsil and the Babartak, Jandran and Pitao
hills in the Kohlii tahsiL

The forest reserves in the Sibi tahsil are Nari bank 1,226 Mixed
acres, Bakhra 1,688 acres, Lahri 427 acres, Gulii Shahr 725 forests in
acres, Dehpdl 599 acres, x\bdul Kheli 197 acres and Talli 6,180 tahsf/^*
acres. The principal trees are the jhau [Tamarix Indica)^
pilti {Salvadora Persica)^ kandi [Prosopis spicigerd)^ karil {Cap-
par is aphy lid) and babul {Acacia Arabicd). The jhmi or tama-
risk predominates in the Nari bank, Bakhra and Lahri
reserves, while the pilu is most common in the remainder.

In the Talli forest the villagers of Talii and Kaisar and cer-
tain sections of the Marris possess the right to graze cattle
and sheep over two-thirds of the area up to a maximum of
one head of cattle for every five acres open to grazing. They
are also entitled to obtain free of charge wood for their own
building and agricultural purposes, provided no such wood
is procurable outside the boundaries of the reserve.

habiil or kikaris indigenous to the plains of Sibi and
Nasirabdd, and forms one of the important roadside trees at
Sibi. The wood is hard and durable and is used for fuel
and for agricultural implements and rafters. The Bark is
largely employed in the manufacture of native liquors, and
is also used for tanning purposes and the leaves furnish
good grazing for camels.

jhau {Tamarix Indicd) is a moderately sized tree
which grows well on sandy and saline soils along stream
beds. The wood is white and fairly hard, and is used for
firewood and agricultural implements*

The kandi^ also known as jand or kanda, is a moderate
sized deciduous thorny tree, found in all parts of the Sibi and

138

CHAPTER 1 H-EC 0 N 0 MIC\

PORESTSf

Reserved

trees.

Minor

products#

Nasirabad tahsils. The wood is of poor quality, but makes
good fuel. The bark is used in tanning, and the pods and
leaves tiirnish fodder for cattle and camels. It is also used
for pickles.

‘The karil [karin^ kanm dela) is a thick growing shrub,
found on the pat in the Sibi and Nasirdbad tahsils. The
wood is hard and close-grained, and is chietiy used for small
beams and rafters, for which it is in great request, as owing
to its bitter taste, it is not attacked by white ants. The
fruit is also eaten, and when unripe is made into pickles and
condiments.

The is a moderate sized tree which grows readily in
poor and sandy soils. The wood is strong and durable, and
is largely used for agricultural and domestic purposes. The
leaves furnish good fodder for camels, cattle and sheep,
Tlie. berries are largely eaten by the poorer classes and more
especially in years of scarcity and drought.

There are no protected or unclassed forests in the Districty
but tlie following trees, growing naturally on waste lands at
the disposal of Government, are held to be reserved trees,
the cutting* and lopping of which are regulated by the rules
contained in the Agent to the Governor-Generars Notification
No. 2271, dated the 27th of February igoi : —

SciiMijic name.

Engl ish na m e .

Local na?ne.

Juniperus excelsa ...

Juniper

j Obusht, Wana or

1 Shrawan.

Pistacia khanjak

Pistachio ...

Khanjak.

Do. mutica ...

Showan.

F raxlnus xnnthoxyloides

Ash

Shang.

Oteja Cits pi data

Olive

Kahu, Showan.
Zag-ha.

Dalbergia slssii ...

Shishani

Acacia modesta

Zizyphos nmnmidaria

Acacia

Palos, Phulai.
Karkan.

Do. oxyphyiia

Gurg’ula.

Teconia undulata ...

Tecoma ...

Rohrai, Lahiira.

Primus- eburnea ... ...

Wild almond

1 Zarga.

Populus Eiiphratica ...

Poplar

I Spina, Padah, Balm

Taniarix articulata ...

Tamarisk...

! Gaz, Lai.

Jhau, Farasli.

'Do. , Indica

Do. ...

Periploca aphylla ...

Barrar, Bdta.

Prosopis spicigera... '

Kandi.

Salvadora Fersioa ... ,,, ...

1 Pilu. . ■

Capparis aphylla ...

j Kadi.

Among minor forest products may be mentioned ' the .pish^
or dwarf palm, cumin seed (s/ra) and hyssop The

asafcetida plant is also found in the Shihrig tahsll, but the

FOI^ESTS,

*39

quantity is too small to be worth while collecting in a system-
atic manner.

The dwarf palm {N’armorkops ritchieana) or pish^ mamri
and dhora as it is locally called in different parts of the
District, is found in large quantities in Kohlii and in the
Shahrig, Harnai and Babihan circles of the Shahrig tahsil,
and is used for making baskets, ropes, sandals and matting,
which are also exported to Quetta and Sibi.

The Bira [Cuminum cyminmn) is found in Zarghdii Ghar in
the Kacli, Mdngi and Sdngdn valleys, and in the Jandrdn and
Bhar hills in Kohlu, The amount of cumin seed collected in
the District in a favourable year is estimated at about 50a
inaunds and the average selling price is Rs. 10 per maund.

Hyssop [Nepetaciltaris) is also found in the Zarghiin and
Khalifat hills. The annual produce is estimated at about
40 mauiids and the market rate varies from 2 to 2\ seers for
fdie rupee.

Liquorice, fmikd/u or khwimhmmlgi [Glycyn'rhha glabra)
grows in the hills in the neighbourhood of Shahrig and
Sangdii, and from 50 to 100 maunds are exported annually to
Sind and the Punjab.

Shooting is prohibited in the reserved forests except under
licenses granted by the District Officer, the fees varying
according to the periods. The close season for game birds
extends from the ist of March to the 31st of August, and the
shooting and snaring of the females and young of ?n 4 rkho?-
gadh and deer are prohibited.

The reserved forests are in the charge of two Deputy
Rangers, who are subordinate to the Extra Assistant Conser-
vator of Forests, and are assisted by 24 guards recruited,
as far as possible, from the people of the country.

No timber of reserved trees can be cut for sale without a
permit from the Chief Forest Officer ; but, except in areas
where special orders to the contrary
exist, villagers can cut the trees named
in the margin for bond fide private use
without any permit, and can collect or
cut for fuel the dry fallen timber of any
tree. Villagers wishing to cut any
other reserved trees for bond fide private purposes must apply
to the Tahsilddr, who is authorised to grant permits to cut

Tamarix articulata.

Do. Indica.
Acacia inode sta.
Teconia uodulata.
Periploca apliylla.
ZizyphuS' nummularia
' ■ Do. oxypiiylla.

Forests.

Cumin seed®

Hyssop.

Liquorice®

Game rules.

Forest estab-
lishment.

140

CHAPTER II^IsCONOMia

Forests.

Arboriciil-
tiire., '

Mines a no
Minerals#

Coal.

timber for these purposes in reasonable quantities. This is
eventually reported to the Forest Officer.

A small establishment is maintained at Sibi for planting
roadside trees within municipal limits. Annual grants are
also given to the head quarters of each tahsilj and nurseries
have been started at various centres for trees suitable for
distribution to the mminddrs.

Minerals of a commercial value and the localities where
they are to be found in the District have been described in
the records of the Geological Survey oflndia^ Vol. XXIII,
Part 3 of 1S90, and XXVI, Part 4 of 1893. The principal
minerals are coal, petroleum, gypsum and earth salt.

The following account of the working of coal mines
by the North-Western Railway at Khost has been furnished
by Mr. A. Mort, the Mining Manager: — At Khost is
worked a thin seam of coal which crops out in the hill-
side to the south-west of the Sind-Pishin loop of the North-
Western Railway. The seam lies in the Gdzij shales (Middle
Eocene) which are overlain by the Upper Eocene (nummuli-
tic), limestone and the Siwalik smid stones and shales.

Roof shale, ''l

j top coal ... 9 inches j

Black shale ... 5 ,,

Bottom coal ...18 ,

Black shale, .. 9 ,,

sand stone j

f or shale. J

The angle of dip is 45° to 55°.

*‘The seam is considered workable along a length of

hillside of about 2 miles near Khost station, and for a
separate short length at a place 4 miles to the North-West,
opposite Zarddlu station.

Analyses of the coal maybe found in Professor Wyndham
Diinston’s report on Indian coals, published by the Imperial
Institute, London. It ranks high amongst Indian coals in
heating power and is low in ash ; but though it has to be
used as a locomotive steam fuel, its richness in volatiles
makes it more really suitable for gas-making. It is excellent
house coal, though very friable.

The outcrop fringe of coal, to an average depth of 50 ft.,
has been won by dips from surface ; below this, access to

A typical section
of the seam shows

Total 2 ft.
3 inches.

COAL.

the 'seam (and drainage) was secured by level adits (tunnels)
200 to 500 ft. long, driven from convenient nullahs in the
hillside. Still lower, points in the seam have been conveni-
ently reached by slant tunnels from the surface ; and
beyond this winding dips in the seam itself are being pushed
down.

From the tunnels or winding dips levels are driven east
and west in the coal-seam at intervals of about 300 ft, and
from each of these the coal is worked upwards (on a system
which may be technically described as ‘ step-longwall to the
rise ’) until the worked out level, 300 ft. above, is reached.
The coal is sent down to the level by shoots 50 ft. apart.
Elaborate timbering of the roads and working faces is
necessary. The seam is a rather gassy one. Ventilation is
effected by furnace or fan. Safety lamps are used exclusively
in the main workings ; regular inspections are made and
strict discipline maintained. The coal-trams from the mines
are conveyed along a hillside tramway of 18 inches gauge
and across a trestle bridge over the river to the railway
siding ; here they are hoisted up an incline and the coal
tipped over a fixed bar screen and picking shoot into wagons.

** Most of the labour is employed through a contractor.
The miners are paid per tram of coal and can easily earn
12 annas to i rupee per shift of eight hours. Night and day
shifts are worked. The miners are mainly Mekrdnis and
Afghans, the latter coming in the winter only. Work other
than coal cutting is mostly done by Punjabis. The local
Kdkar Pathan will only work under ground in famine times,
but he benefits much indirectly from the colliery’s existence.
The average daily number of men employed is about 650,
and the saleable output is 36,000 tons per year. Thus it
takes about six employes to account for each ton of coal won
daily. Since 1887, when the colliery first started in a very
small way, to 1905 inclusive, about si i^-cs of tons of coal
have been extracted. Some 37 per cent, of the coal output
is dust (passing between bars spaced | inch apart). The
dust was formerly coked, but is now nearly all made into
briquettes, with the addition of 6 per cent, of English soft
coal-pitch as agglomerant. Both coal and briquettes are
used almost exclusively for steam-raising in locomotives.
The book rates of issue to the locomotive department are at

Mi NFS AND

Minerals.

142.

CHAPTER UNECONOMIC.

Mims AND

Minerals*

Petrol eiim.
Khattan*

present Rs, lo per ton for coalj Rs. 6 for dust j and Rs« 12
per ton for briquettes. Because of the distance of other
sources of supplys these rates are economical to the railwayj^
and the colliery a valuable property to it. The capital
outlay to date has been about 3I lacs of rupees, but this
is more than covered by the book profit.”

The Editor is also indebted to Mr, A. Mort for the follow-
ing* note on the Khattan petroleum and the prospects of
working the oil at Spintangi : —

Khattan (a local word meaning “ asphalt ”) is the name
of a place in the Marri country, Baluchistan, 43 miles byroad
east of Babar Kacli station, Sind-Peshin State Railway.
There, in a desolate valley, in bare eocene strata, two or
more springs of hot calcareous water, saturated with 'sul-
phuretted hydrogen^ issue out of a fault or crack i.n the rock ;
and with the water coma frequent globules of black, tarry oil
The amount of oil so issuing is quite insignificant, though the
traces of asphalt or dried oil in the strata give evidence of
long continuance of the flow.

A few hundred feet awax’ from the springs, on a con-
venient p.iece of fiat ground, boring was comniencecl 01117th
September 1884 at the expense of the Government, P. W. D.
The Canadian system of boring was employed ; and from
commencement of operations to stoppage early in 1S92, Mr.
R. A. Townsend, a Canadian, was in charge. Some six
holes were put down at Khattan itself within short distances
(about 50 feet) of each other ; the deepest of these, of which
f can find record, was 534 feet ; diameter of hole 8 inches at
top, 4I inches at bottom. It passed through broken nodular
limestone (approximately 200 feet thick) and then into shales
with thin limestone bands. Oil was obtained at 28 feet, at
62 feet, at 92 feet, at 115 feet, at 125 feet, at 133 and at 374
feet, all but the last point being in the nodular limestone.
The oil along with the water was got by pumping,

•it

On a large sample of Khattan oil sent to London, Dr.

'' Boverton Redwood reported that it is like . the Californian
“ Maltha ” or black viscid petroleum, from which asphaltuoi
(pitch) is got by sun drying. Its density at 60^^ F. is nearly
that of water ; at higher temperatures it is lighter than water
and Boats. The sample had in it 4 per cent, of floating

PETROLEUM,

solids (presumably sulphur and carbonate of lime) and 6 per
cent, of water.

The yield of oil from the borings varied greatly : on
23rd February 18885 Mr. Townsend stated that he could out-
turn 2^500 barrels of oil per six days, this means 15,000 gal-
lons or 60 tons per clay. Early in 1890 Mr. Oldham noted
that four wells were being pumped, yielding a total of 30
barrels per day only ; at the close of 1891 pumping ceased,
as little but water was obtained, and the Khojak works (on
which the oil was used as fuel) were completed. The total
output between 1886 and 1892 was 777,225 gallons. After-
wards for twelve months from March 1893, Messrs. MacBean
& Company pumped the bore holes and produced 60,000
gallons of oil, which was sold to the railway at 3 annas per
gallon. Mr. MacBean appears to entertain no doubt that
more could have been got had he been able to employ more
staff at Khattan ; the rate of 3 annas per gallon delivered at:
Babar Kacli seems to be about the least working expense at
which oil could be put on the railway at Babar Kach (from
i anna to i anna 7 pies, being cost of camel carriage from
Khattan).

^‘The total expenditure of Government on the Khattan
operations amounted to Rs. 6,46,259, of this about i-|- lacs
was for II miles of 4-inch pipes through which the oil was
to be forced from Khattan to Kaura Duff, through the
Chdkar gorge ; these were ordered but never used ; and
cost may be deducted ; there was also a three-mile line of
small pipe bringing drinking water to Khattan ; for this also
credit could be got as likewise for the portable boiler and
engine, deep well pumps, roofing materials, etc. The net

loss was probably about 4 lacs of rupees.

# ^ *

Khattan oil would be more valuable to the railway now
than it was formerly. As a fuel it was worth not more than
i-| times its weight of Khost coal, and so could not possibly
compete ; but it is mainly as a possible substitute for pitch,
the agglomeraiit used in fuel-briquette manufacture, that it
is to be now considered.”

Mines and
M lNEf?ALS.

* Page 109, Oloham’s Country adjoining the Sind-‘P$shin Raihmy.

Min s and*
Minerals.
Other pos-
sible oil sup-
plies near
Spfnlangl.

Gypsum.

Limestone
and building
stone.

Mitiu

Earth salt*

144 CHAPTER II— ECONOMIC.

Borings were also commenced in 1891 at PIr Koh, near
Spintangi, but were abandoned after they had reached^ a
depth of 560 feet, as no signs of petroleum were dis-

covered.

Gypsum occurs in considerable quantities near Khattaiis
and also at Tune near Spintangi.

‘‘Limestone^ is extremely abundant throughout the area
occupied by nummulitic rocks, and even in the Siwalik area
the pebbles in the stream beds are almost all composed
of limestone. It is of great purity as a rule, in fact
its only fault seems to be that it produces too fat a

lime. "" '' *

Building stone is abundant. The sand stones of the
GhdEij group are quarried near Shahrig, but the best stone
is that obtained from the lower bed of the Siwalik series,
where they have not been too much disturbed. Among the
lower hills near Ndsik, quarries might be established, where
an excellent free stone could be obtained in blocks of large
size ; the quality, however, is not good enough to establish
an export trade, and for local purposes the nearest stone
available is used.”

Building stone occurs in several places in Wanga, Jandran
and the hills to the north of the Kohlu tahsil,

A saponine drab-coloured earth, resembling FulIer^s earth
and called mittiy is obtained from a place called Zaotak,
2 miles from Ldsdzai in the Kohlu tahsil. It is used by the
indigenous population as a substitute for soap.

The manufacture of salt was carried on near the village of
Mama! in the Nasirdbad tahsil until stopped by the orders
of the Government of India in 1905. The method of
manufacture was rough and primitive. A platform was
made, on the top of which the salt-impregnated earth was
piled, and round the platform low retaining walls were built ;
water was poured on the top of the platform, and after
oozing through the earth was run into a reservoir and thence
into vats. Round the vats were placed shallow pans made
of sun-dried mud, in shape like ice pans, and into these the
water was ladled. As the water evaporated, a crust of salt
was formed, and the pans were filled and refilled till, at the

n’BA vjyo.

^ 45

€iid of some fifteen days, they were full of salt. The salt
was then dried in the sun. The manufacture could only be
carried out during the hot months of the summer and then
only in fine weather. This kind of salt was much appreciated
by the local inhabitants, who much prefer it to the imported
sea salt from Sind or rock salt from the Punjab, sold in the
bazars. The Manial salt is an earth salt of an iinusuaily
fine quality* This salt is known as ?iihi and the salt
manufacturers, who are a race apart, are called niindrs.
They originally came from Sind and the DeraGhazi Khdii Dis-
trict of the Punjab when the salt works were stopped in those
provinces. For further details regarding the manufacture and
sale of salt, see section on Sait in Chapter III, Administrative.

There are no important arts and. manufactures in the Dis-
trict, and the art of cotton weaving, which appears to have
been a considerable industry in the plains of Nasirabad and
Sibi in former times, is rapidly giving way before the inva-
sion of Indian piece-goods, which can now be obtained in
all parts of the country.

The following interesting note, written by Mr. Lockwood
Kipling on some of the special Baloch industries of the
Derajdt hills, applies equally to the Marri and Bugti country; —

In the border hills in this District there is an interesting
domestic industry of woollen weaving, the products of which
resemble the Arab or Semitic type of woven fabrics more
than any other work found in India. The coarse and every-
day forms of this pastoral craft are rough goats’ hair ropes,
the rude cloth on which grain is winnowed and cleaned,
corn sacks, camel bags and the like, which are used through-
out this District and the Derajat Division generally.

“More highly finished forms are camel trapping saddle
bags, shairanjis or rugs, and similar articles woven by
Baloch women in a somewhat harsh, worsted-like yarn, dyed
in a few sober colours. The patterns are as simple as the
material, but they are always good, and there is a quality of
tone and Goloiir in the stuff which more costly fabrics seldom
possess. In addition to the woven pattern, saddle bags are
ornamented with tassels in which white cowries are struncy,
and with rosettes skilfully and ingeniously worked in fioss
silk oi different colours, and g/zqgA (small oblong shells like
seeds) sewn to the borders. The rugs have great wearing

lo ■ ■■

MlNJSS AND

Minseads,

Arts and
Manufac-
tures.
General
conditions.

Baloch

woollen

weaving.

CHAPTER n~-ECONOMIC\

Arts anb
Manbfac-
TBRIS*

Embroi-

deries,

qualities, as warp and weft are both in bard wool ; but be-
ing often crookedly woven, they do not always lie flat

There are no signs that the Baloch weaving will grow
to any thing more than it. is at present— a household occu-
pation for merely local use. The work is, however, interest®^
ing as an example of the instinctive “rightness’^ and pro-
priety of design and colour which seem to be invariable at-
tributes of pastoral industries.*’

Embroideries in silk are also worked by the Baloch women,
but are for private use and seldom find their way into the
open market. The following description of specimens of
local work sent to “ Indian Arts Exhibition of Delhi” In 1903
is given by Sir George Watt, K.C.LE. Baluchistdn—
Under the chapter devoted to darn and satin stitches, men-
tion has been made of certain forms of embroidery met
with in Baluchistdn, but it is necessary to say something of
the double herring bone stitch that is abundantly used by
certain classes of people of that country. The following
notes taken from the collections on view may exemplify the
points of greatest interest. Quetta — No, 2992-A cotton dress
wdth long front pocket, embroidered in purple magenta silk.
The threads are carried from opposite sides diagonally over
a band and are made to loop around each other in the middle.
This stitch is used to cover long strips which start from a
sort of cross on the shoulders and stretch down over the
breasts like Imitation straps. No. 2903 illustrates another
form of Baloch embroidery done by the Bugti women.
Bands of yellow and green cotton are sewn on to. the cotton
garment in a sort of patchwork ; they are then embroidered
over the surface, the stitch being usually that above de-
scribed, but often with two threads simultaneously looping
around each other midway. It is customary, when appliqud
is resorted to, for the embroidery to consist mainly of large
circular buttons or medallions in yellow, red and purple.
So . also No. 2904 shows a silk dress in opaque yellow, em-
broidered in orange, green, brown, and dull brick-red. The
st»itch used is mainly herring boning, the threads looping
through each other. But in this instance large patches are
literally woven by the needle in the manner in which a stock-
ing may be repaired. Lines appear to be run across in one
direction, and the return threads are subsequently worked

FLOUR MILLS. 147

Arts and
Manufac-
tures.

pottery,

through these in regular meshes until the whole surface is
covered/^

Coarse white felt coats known as khosas^ made of sheep's Felts,
wool which are generally woven by the Pathdns in the high-
lands during the winter, are made b}" the women in the
villages.

A mention of the dwarf palm has already been made in the Dwarf palm,
section 011 Forests. Articles made from this plant, such
as sandals, ropes, mats and baskets enter largely into the
domestic economy of ihe people, and are also exported to
Quetta and Sibi*

Rough utensils for domestic use are made by the women,
and potters are found in many of the larger villages in the
plains. The work is usually rough and primitive, but in the
Kiirk village near Sibi the manufacture of gharas and siirdhis
is a speciality, and these articles fetch a good price in the
local markets.

Leather work, consisting of saddles and horse gear, em-
broidered shoes and sword belts, is carried on at Muhammad-
piir in the Nasirdbdd tahsll and at Lahri in Kachhi. The
sword belts made at the latter place have considerable local
repute, and are extensively worn by the Baloch and Brdhui
tribesmen. The leather used is of a dark-red colour, orna-
mented with green, and then embroidered in minute circles,
compacted between parallel lines ; the work is in golden
yellow silk and in a minute form of chain stitch.

A detailed description of the leather industry at Lahri is
given in the Gazetteer of Kachhi,

There are two steam flour mills in the Sibi town belong-
ing to Siiidi merchants from Shikarpiir. One of these, known
as the '®' Kemban Steam Flour Mill/ was established in 1895
and the other in 1902. The mills employ 22 men including 2
mistris, and the outturn of each is estimated to be about 14
maunds of flour per hour. The wages charged for grinding '
and cleaning are 5 annas a maund and' a seer of' corn. The
flour is largely used in the town of Sibi, and is also exported

Leather

work.

Steam hour
mills.

CHAPTER IT-^EC GNOMIC.

Arts and
Manufac-

. TUR'ES,
Potash,

Commerce
AND Trade,

1 48

Pishui section of the North-Western Railwa}^. The annual

outturn of both mills is about 30,000 maunds.

Sajjiy which is a species of carbonate of soda, is produced
from a bush called khcir {Sahola Griffithii), The khdr is cut
in December and January, dried and then placed in a hole in
the ground and burnt. A cross stick is inserted into the
ashes, which are then covered over with earth for eight
days, at the expiration of which the sajji is drawn out in a
hard nnss by means of the stick. The best quality sells at
Sibi at the rate of Rs. r-4 per maund. Inferior qualities are
also made from the plants known as Icinra {Sahola fcetida)
and Mnn (Simda friiticosa). All these are found in the dry
crop areas of the Sibi tahsil, in the Muhammadpur and Sirwah
circles of Nasirabdd and in the Kohlu tahsil. The monopoly
of manufacturing sajji in the Sibi tahsil is sold annually by
auction, and the income thus derived shows an average of
Rs. 1,018 for the last six years (1905). The exact quantity
produced during the year is not . known, but the railway
traffic returns show that 4,910 maunds were exported by rail
from Sibi in 1904 and 8,933 maunds in 1905,

The local exports and imports of the ancient province of
Sewistdn were at all times insignificant, and this part of the
country in relation to trade was important only on account of
the numerous trade routes which traversed it. Formerly
there appears to have been a considerable transit trade be-
tween the Punjab and Khurdsan and Kandahdr which passed
through the routes in the District, but since the opening of
the railways, the caravan traffic, except as far as local centres
are concerned, has greatly diminished.

In former times the greater part of the trade from Sind
and Sibi to Quetta and Kandahdr passed through the Bolan
Pass, but in the early days of British occupation the mer-
chants, who were subjected to heavy tolls and to vexatious
exactions on the part of the Khdn’s officials, turned their
attention to the Haniai route which had now been rendered
safe and practicable. A greater pait of the trade in i88i was
thus diverted fr.-m the Boldn, and the returns kept at the
Gaadakindafi post showed the following results of the traffic

COMMERCE AND TRADE.

149

by the Hariiai route for the first twelve months ending* with
the 31, St of August 18S2 : —

Camels.

Donkeys.

Bullocks,

Ponies.

Ca rts.

Sibi to Kandahar

9)974

2,720

467

Kandahar to Sibi ...

6,546

2,235

...

Sibi to Quetta... ...

2,4SS

327

254

...

Quetta to Sibi... ... ...

II2

...

Local Traffic*

Between Sibi and Kach

859

274

26S

...

»» ,, ,, 1 hal •*.

1,047

561

555

9 I

Total ...

20,996

6,143

1,572

105 j

The growing popularity of the Harnai route seriously affected
the Khdn’s revenues, and eventually an agreement, dated the
8th of June 1883, was made with Mir Khudadad Khdn by
which the jurisdiction of the Boldn Pass was transferred
to the British Government on the payment of an annual
subsidy. The Government at the same time sanctioned the
lev}’ of tolls on both routes as a tentative measure with effect
from the tst of September 1883. During the latter half of
the year 1883-84 the dues thus collected on the Harnai route
amounted to Rs, 2,4n“4-o^ the value of the merchandise
passing by this route during the same period being computed
at Rs. 1,71,047-8-0. These tolls were permanently abolished
by the orders of the Government of India on the 15th of
May 1884, and since the construction of the railways and
the opening out of the Bolan, the caravan traffic on the
Harnai route has practically ceased.

The trade between Sibi and Thai was also subject to tolls
levied by the Marri Chief at Gamboli at the following rates -
Camel Rs. 1-8-0, pony Re. i -0-0, bullock’ 12 annas, donkey

Commerce
AND Trade

CHAPTER IP-ECONOMIC.

Commerce
AND Trade.

Character of

trade.

Nasinibdd,

Kohlu.

Sibi.

■^50

<5 annas ; and the revenue thus realised during the year
ending with 31st of August 1882 amounted to Rs. 2,206.

The bulk of the trade of Nasirdbad is almost entirely with
Sind, and the chief imports are piece-goods, molasses, sugar,
tobacco and oil, while the principal exports ^.vejudr and bdjri
grains, oilseeds, gram, wheat, rice and cotton. No reliable
figures are available as regards either the imports or ex»
ports, but the latter are far in excess of the former ; and
the tahsilddr who has made rough local enquiries estimates
the value of the imports at Rs. 76,000 and of the exports
at over 23 lakhs. These figures, however, should be re-
ceived with caution.

As is the case with Nasirabad no figures are available for
the Kohlu trade. The chief article of export is grain, of
which it is reported some 10,000 maunds are sold to the
Marris and other neighbouring tribes in favourable years.
The principal imports are cloth, sugar and molasses.

Sibi is the chief centre of trade in the District, and imports
considerable quantities of articles for consumption in the
town and outlying villages and for the Marri hills. The
export trade consists chiefly oijudr^ wheat, sarshaf hhtlsa^
the latter being sent to Quetta and the remainder to both
Quetta and Sind. The principal minor trading centres are
Spintangi, which is the market for Thai, Duki and the
northern end of the Marri country; Harnai which is the
forwarding station for Loralai and Fort Sandeman ; and
Khost from which some ii lakhs of maunds of coal are
annually exported for use on the North-Western Railway.

The subjoined statements give the maundage of the chief
articles of imports and exports at Sibi, Bdbar Kach , Spintangi,
Harnai, Shdhrig, Khost and Kach*

Names oi ^WUdcs. 190-^. 1905. j 1904. 1905. I 1904. 1935. I 1904. 1905. 1 1904. 1905. j 1904* I 1905. I 1904. { 1905. I 1904. I 1905.

is8,025*| iio,i77| I4 j7o9 2Ij2SO

MEANS OF COMMUNICATION

^53

The following table shows the imports and exports of Sibi Com^ierce
for a certain number of selected years ; — Trade*

Year. i

Exports,

Imports,

Total.

Maunds.

1893

118,524

1,110,536

Ij229,C 60

iSc)S ... ...

181,496

147,764

329,280

1903

227,696

* 55‘540

383.336

^904

158,023

75,531

233.554

110,177

^62,315

272,492

The year 1893 was exceptional, as the Mushkcif Boldn line
was then under construction, and the general average for
ordinary \ears in round numbers is about 130,000 maunds
for imports and 165,000 maunds for exports.

Trade is generally in the hands of either local or Sindi classes
banias, who maintain shops in all the towns and in the larger
\'il!ages. The carrying trade is chiefly in the hands of Ghilzai
and Brdhui nomads and of the Jats. At Sibi there is a
panchdit of the Hindu trading community, and fees at the rate
of 2 annas 6 pies for every rupee paid as octroi are collected
from each Hindu shopkeeper. Half of this collection is
spent on the various Hindu religious institutions in the town,
and the remaining half is distributed as alms.

The Sind-Pishln section of the North-Western State Rail- Means of
way, a State line of the standard gauge, enters the Sibi
District near Jhatpat, 45 miles from Ruk junction and 361
miles from Karachi. It traverses the District for 199 miles Railway,
and then enters the Qiietta-Pishin District at Kach Kotal DescHptioa
(Brdhimjin Kotal) and terminates at Chamaii on the border
of Southern Afghdnistiin. From Kach Kotal the distance to
Quetta is 42I miles and to Chaman 89! ; the total length
of the line in Baluchistan being 312 miles. For administra-
tive purposes the first portion from Jhatpat to Pirak Takri
(82 miles) is included in the Nasirabad sub-division ; the
next 15 miles as far as Ndri Gorge lie in the Sibi tahsil ;
while from Nari Gorge to Spintangi (34 miles) the line runs
through the Marri country, the tract being technically known

J54

CHAPTER UNECONOMIC.

Means of as the Kohki Railway tahsfl and being* under the control of
COMMUNi- Extra Assistant Commissioner, Sibi. The remainder of

the line is in the Shdhrig tahsfl.

The necessity of the Frontier Railway system was Tecog-

nised when Lord Lytton’s policy was initiated in 1876. A
large survey party was organised during the winter of that
year under Major (the late Sir James) Browne, who made a
reconnaissance far into the hills, but little else was accom-
plished and the survey party scattered in 1877. project

was then put aside till September 1879, when the Govern-
ment of India sanctioned the construction of a surface line
across the ^ pat^ or Kachhi plains. This was pushed on
with great rapidity under the inspiring energy of Sir Richard
Temple, then Governor of Bombay, and was completed as
far as Sibi in January 1880. The scare following the battle
of M.ai\vand, however, brought the operations to a stand-
still, and the changes in ministry caused the work to be
abandoned till 1883. It was then continued intermittently
as the Harnai military road” till July 1884, when the work
was recommenced in earnest. Notwithstanding great
difficulties and epidemics of cholera which broke out
in 18S5, the construction was steadily pressed on, and was
completed under the supervision of General Sir James
Browne as far as Quetta and Kila Abdulla in 1887,
railway being opened for traffic on the 28th of August of the
same year. The line suffered severely from heavy floods
in iSSS, 1889 and 1890, which necessitated heavy expenditure
in repairs and improvements ; and during the exceptionally
wet winter of 1890-1 the hillsides near Mud Gorge began
to move, and numerous and gigantic slips occurred in Feb-
ruary and March 1891. This made it clear that another
line of communication was absolutely necessary, and orders
were issued for the construction of the Mushkdf BoMn
railway.

From Jhatpat to Sibi the country consists of pat or desert
plain practically void of all vegetation. From Sibi to Nari
the country remains open, and the line then enters the Nari
Gorge and follows the river as far as Bdbar Kach, crossing
■and recrossing.it by six bridges. After leaving Bdbar Kach,
the line crosses a shingly plain to Gandakindaff, and traverses
the tortuous Kuchdii defile in which are situated three bridges

* The place is locally known as Nasaka.

t Life and Times of Sir James Busier" Bfo'wney by Lt.-General
McLeod Innes, pp» 256 and «57,

SIND-PISHIN RAIL WA K 1 55

and three tunnels. The gradients now become steeper* and Means of

from Bdbar Kach to Kuchdli station the rise is 425 feet m cation* : -

about 7 miles, and thence through Daldjdl to Spintangi

station about 560 feet in 13 miles. The country now becomes

more open, though the line still rises rapidly from 1,800 feet

at Spintangi station to 2,475 feet at Sunari, 2,950 feet at

Harnai, and 3,362 feet at Nakas.* At Ndkas the line enters

the valley of the Syddha river over which there are four

bridges, and rises 616 feet in 6 miles to the top of the Punga

Ghat, from which point to Shahrig station there is a slight

descent through open country. The railway now descends

about 170 feet in the next 3-^ miles, and then follows the

Akhtamar river through Khost station to Dirgi (4,765 feet),

passing over four bridges. After Dirgi, it passes through the
famous Chappar Rift, of which the following description is ,

taken from the life of Sir James Browner |

^«The Nari Gorge traversed, the line ascends along a
mountain valley presenting no difficulties greater than are
ordinarily met with in mountain lines until the Chappar Rift
is reached, a curious freak of nature which will certainly
before long become a favourite place of interest for Indian
tourists. Here the great spurs of a rocky mountain, many j

hundred feet in height, cross the drainage of the country and |

present apparently a perfectly insuperable barrier. On close |

approach there appears, however, a great rift transverse to
the line of mountain, several hundred feet high, and with
just width enough for laden camels to pass along the stony
bed, through which the waters, from what might have been
an extensive lake, now find their way. In dry seasons the
bottom of the rift presents merely the appearance of a very
narrow rocky stream, difficult but not impracticable for a
horseman ; but in floods a grand volume of water rushes
through with a depth of from 30 to 40 feet. The character
of the rock forbids the idea of traversing it by means of a
ledge, and the plan adopted was that of two lines of con-
tinuous tunnels, one on each side of the rift, ending at points
opposite and on a level with each other, where they are
connected, and the rift is spanned by an iron girder bridge.

To have constructed these tunnels in the ordinary way from

Means of
COMMUNI*
CATION.

156 CHAPTER II--ECONOMK\

either end would have involved a great expenditure of time
owing to the extreme hardness of the rock, and it was
determined to effect the task by means of the combination of
a number of adits or approaches or short tunnels from the
precipitous sides of the rift, with the interior passages, and it
is in the construction of these that the engineers and work-
men were called on to display a degree of physical courage
as great as is ever needed in any operation of life. The only
way of making these adits or subsidiary tunnels was by
letting down workmen with ropes from the top of the cliff
several hundred feet above the point of operation. The first
man down had to gain a footing by driving a crowbar into
the perpendicular wall ; after the first crowbar others were
driven in, and then a platform was erected from which blasting
operations could begin. So singular and difficult a piece of
engineering has probably seldom or never been accomplished
before, and the name of the gallant officer, Captain Buchanan
Scott, who led the way in this perilous task, deserves per-
petual record in connection with the work. Six openings
were made on one side of the cliff for one tunnel and six on
the other, and galleries driven into them till points were
reached from where the main tunnel could be constructed
right and left, so that the work could be carried on by four-
teen separate gangs ; and in this way the whole tunnel was
blasted out in a few months.

‘‘ The tunnel completed, there remained the erection of
the girder, and this is about 220 feet above the bed of the
gorge. The erection of it was not the least of the difficulties
overcome by the ingenuity and energy of General Browne
and Captain Scott. This is the bridge which was opened by
H. R. H. the Duchess of Connaught, the first lady, we
believe, who ever visited the spot, and was named ‘ Louise
Margaret' in her honour. The elevation of the Chapper
Rift is about 5,300 feet or i mile above the sea ; from
thence the line rises with a ruling gradient of i in 45 til! the
summit leve! of 6,800 feet is reached, first, however, passing
through another very difficult point known as Mud Gorge.
Here the difficulty is not rock, but a mountain mass, which
is little better than hard mud, which had already made
several bad slips, carrying away the whole of the line, and
threatening more slips in the future. It will be some time

ROADS.

before the regime of Mud Gorge will be thoroughly esta-
blished, and the line attain a tone of durability.”

Alter passing the Mud Gorge arching {i,o?o feet long)
and three bridges, Kach station is reached at mile 561 1 from
Karachi, and 2 miles further on is the summit of the
BHihiman or Kach Kotal (6,534. feet) which divides the
District from Quetta-Pishin.

The details of the principal routes in the District are
shown in table XI, Volume B, and table XII, Volume B,
contains a list of the Dak Bungalows and Rest Houses.

The principal route is that which leads from Sibi to Quetta
via Harnai and Kach, In former times it was largely used
by /cd/ilas, and in the early days of British occupation became
a formidable rival to the Bolan route, but since the opening
of the railways and the abolition of the transit dues in the
Boldn, it has lost its importance, and at the present time
there is little or no regular caravan traffic. The road passes
for many miles through the beds of hill torrents, more
especially between Sibi and Sunari and is liable to damage
by floods. It is not kept in repair, and in its present
condition is unfit for wheeled traffic and in many parts is
difficult for laden camels (1905). The chief branches that
take off from this line are (a) the Sibi Kahan road, (b) the
route from Babar Kach to Quetta via Sangan, (c) the
important artery connecting Babar Kach with Khattan,
Kahdn and Kohlu via Mamand, (d) the route from Bcibar
Kach to Gdti bridge (73I miles), of which 57^* miles are in
this District, and (£?) from Spintangi to Thai and Duki (55^
miles), of which 33-I miles lie in the District.

The first 22 miles (Harnai to the Ushghara Kotal) of the
Harnai-Loralai and Fort Sandeman road, which runs through
the Mehrdb Tangi, the Dilkiina defile and across the Smallan
valley, lie in the Sibi District. The first portion, as far as
Loralai, was constructed immediately after the occupation of
the Bori valley in 1887, and has subsequently been metalled
and rendered fit for wheeled traffic. Its cost is computed at
Rs. 10,600 per mile, and the maintenance charge in 1905
amounted to Rs* 505 per mile.

The tonga road from Kach to Zidrat, 32|- miles, was
constructed ill April 1899. It is bridged and partially
metalled and is suitable for light vvheeled traffic. The

Means' of
Communi-
cation. ..

Roads.

Sibi-Quetta

road.

Harnai

road.

Kach-Zidrat

road.

CHAPTER II-^-ECOHOMia

Means of
Communi-
cation V

Marri and
Bagtl roates.

Ollier

routes.

Transport.

158

average cost of construction was Rs. 2,152 per iniie, and its^
maintenance charges per mile amounted in 1904-5 to
Rs. 112.

The routes connecting the District with the Marri-Bugti
country and the Lahri 7 iidhat of the Kalat State are described
in table XI, Volume B, and in the Miniature Gazetteer of
the Marri-Bugti hills.

The other important routes are : — {a) The Smallan-Ziarat
road (40-I miles), of which 8 miles on the Zidrat side lie in
the District, {b) The Duki-Gumbaz-Kohlu-Barkhan road and
(c) the first 8 miles of the Sibi-Rindli road.

The annexed table shows the road mileage on the 51st of
March 1905 : —

Description.

Total. i

Maintained
from Military
Funds.

Maintained
from Provin-
cial Revenues*

Cart roads, partially brid-
ged and metalled.

IIO -25

39‘5

7075

Tracks and paths

453 '25

445*25

Total ...

S63’So

47 ’5

516*00

These figures do not include 6^ miles of roads in and about
Sibi, which are maintained from Local Funds.

Camels are the principal means of transport throughout
the greater part of the District. The number of these animals
possessed by the permanent inhabitants is estimated at about
4,000, while about 5,000 are computed as belonging to the
various nomad tribes who, with the Jats, monopolize the
great bulk of the carrying trade. The Brdhui nomads are
found in the District during the greater part of the year, and
in the winter the country is visited by considerable numbers
of Ghilzais. The rates vary according to the supply and
demand and are usually fixed by private arrangement between
the traders and the carriers, but the following may be taken
as fairly representative From Harnai to Loralai and Duki
from 7 to 12 annas per maund ; from Harnai to Fort Sande-
man from Re. 1-2 to Rs. 2 ; and from Spintangi to Thai and
Duki from 6 to 8 annas and from 8 to 10 annas per maund

CAMEL CONTRACTS,

^59

respectively. The usual rate of hire for a camel from Sibi to Means, of
Kahcin is Rs. 3, aud from Dera Bugti to Jacobabad and Roj- Communi-
Iiaii .from Rs, 3 to Rs. 4, and from Rs. 2 to Rs. 2-8 respectively.

Country carts are found in the Nasirdbdd and Sibi tahsfls
only, their numbers being’ 200 in the former and 120 in the
latter* The iisiia! rates of hire vary from 8 annas to Re. 1*4
per diem. Donkeys and bullocks are also largely used for
local transport^ the numbers of the former being 2,741, belong-
ing to the permanent inhabitants and about 900 to nomads.

The bullocks are chiefly owned by the zmmnddrs and have
already been referred roin the section on Agriculture. Single
horse tcngas or iumhims ply regularly on the Harnai-Loraiai
road, and are subject to rules issued by the Agent to the
Governor-General in October 1902 under section 20-A of the
Stage Carriages Act (XVI of 1861). The fare from Harnai
to Loralai is Rs. 12, and from Loralai to Fort Sandeman
Rs, 36 for a single and Rs. 50 for the return journey. There
is also a regular tonga service beween Kach and Ziarat in the
summer months, the fare being Rs. 13 for the single journey.

The question of camel transport has always presented Camel

* ^ ^ con

much difficulty, and conferences and committees were held in
18S4, 1887, 1890 and 1891 to consider the subject. The con-
ference which assembled in September 1891 under the pre-
sidency of Mr, (now Sir Hugh) Barnes, the then Revenue
Commissioner in Baluchistdn, drew up an elaborate set of rules
and a draft agreement, the terms of which were approved by
the Government of India. This conference recommended the
division of the whole Baluchistdn Agency into two independ-
ent circles, the contract in each circle being held by a separate
contractor. The second circle included the Sibi, Loralai
and Zhob Districts, for which a contract was concluded for a
period of three years ending with the 30th of September 1894,

On the termination of this contract a committee was again
assembled under the presidency ‘of Major Mclvor in Novem-
ber 1894, when it was decided that it was impracticable to
maintain a uniform schedule of rates for the whole Agency,
and that as regards the Kalat and Quetta-Pishin Dis-
tricts, the supply of camel carriage and the rates to be paid -
might be left to the ordinary laws of supply and demand. It
was, however, considered desirable to retain the existing
arrangements in Zhob, Sibi and Loralai' ; andthe contract

CHAPTER ir— ECONOMIC.

Means of
Comm UN I-
■ CATION*

Telegraph

offices.

Post offices.

i6o

system with certain modifications still remains m force

(1905).

The Military Works Services and the Supply and Trans-
port Department have separate contracts. Anew factor has
recently been introduced by the recruitment of two Camel
Corps by Government, the 58th Silladar Camel Corps
raised in 1901 and the Sist Ghilzai Camel Corps raised in
1905 with its head-quarters at Quetta. Both these corps
are employed in carrying trade in peace time.

The District is well provided with telegraphs, all head
quarter stations being connected by wire. There are also
offices at all stations on the railway, and several of the Post
Offices are combined with Telegraph Offices. The latter are
denoted by the letter C in the statement below, which also
shows the names of the Post Offices and their functions : —

Name of

Post Office.

Headj Sub or

1 Branch Office,

Can issue and ^
p a y Money
Orders.

Can transact y

Savings Bank
business.

a” -

Departmental O
Office,

Yateabad...

Branch ...

• Bellpat ...

...

mm*.

.Lindsay

...

f f t

Nutta!

—

Mithri •

# «

Sibi _ ... ^ ...

j Head

S i b i Railway

Station.

Railway Mail
j Service. ]

...

... 1

Babar Kach ...

i Branch ...

...

Spintangi

! >'

...

«««

Harnai

Sub

Shalirig ...

Khost

Branch

...

Mdngi

‘ 1 »

«*•

...

Kach

J »

' s

Zhlrat*

Sub

Kohiu j

Branch

The mails from Harnai to Loralai are carried daily by a
tonga service, the contract for which is renewed annually
under the orders of the Political Agent, Loralai. The up
journey takes about ii hours, and the down journey about 9
ho^s. The mails from Kach to Zidrat during the summer

* The Zidrat combined office remains open from about the middle
of April to middle of October,

FAMINE.

season are also earned by a tonga service, the contract for means ok
rvhich IS likewise renewed annually. The mails to Kohlu via Communi-
Duki and Gumbaz are carried twice a week by Postal levies,

There is no regular service to the Marri and Bugti tracts^

Government letters being carried when required by the tribal

levies.

The conditions of tlie different parts of the District are favise
very issimi ai , and while Nasirabdd is fully protected h\' Scarcity and
Its canals, and part of the Sibi tahsil and the upper highlands
have a large proportion of irrigated land with a good supply
ot permanent water, Kohlu, the tracts occupied by the
Marris and Bugtis, and the large khushkdba areas in the
south ot the Sibi tahsil are almost entirely dependent for
their crops and fodder on a favourable rainfall. In these
parrs periods of scarcity are constant and frequent, although
acute famine is unknown owing to the migratory habits "of
the peopl^e and the proximity of fully protected areas in Nasir-
abdd and Sind, where ample means of subsistence exist for
all who are willing to work. Except in the Marri and Bu,-ti
tracts, where the majority efthe inhabitants are pastoral, a fair
harvest of either wheat or/ww' is ordinarily sufficient to carry
the local indigenous population through the year. The
primary cause of scarcity is the failure of the autumn and
winter rains, and recent experience has shown that the
people can tMe over one or two years of drought, but that a
combined failure of both crops and grazing for consecutive

to considerable

.s.iai b. The other causes of agricultural loss which, if
combined with other influences, may cause scarcity are the
visitations of locusts, the appearance of surkht or rust in the
crops, and the ravages of the tiddi or grasshoppers. Failure

o t ie harvest in Sind and the Punjab also affects the prices
of staple grains. ‘

Local tradition speaks of constant scarcity, and Masson p . ^ ,

imi"'th " '^30 to ,840. In recent rca"cUy

times there was a succession of unfavourable seasons

between 1897 and 1902, during which period there was much
distress m most parts of the District. Produce-revenue
adjusts Itself automatically, and during the first two years
some remissions and suspensions in assessed areas, combined
with assistance for the purchase of seed and stock, were

CHAPTER I1-— ECONOMIC.

Famine.

\’is‘italion3
of locusts.

Rs , «a allotted by the Indian Famine Rebel Fund, was

dwrutei amcny tb= destitute .. «-= -'F -»P

-iftVie Sibi tahsll, revenue and grazing- tax to the
areas of the remitted, whilst Rs. 94

Tpen iel Advances to the amount of Rs. 30,^23 we«
if” en to agriculturists for the purchase ol seed gram
mS idough btillochs, and relief works costing about

1905-6 were also periods of drought
and scarcity in the tribal areas and the khushkaba lands in
the SibiTahsil, and in 1905-6 doles, amounting to
were -iven in equal shares to such Marri and Lu^t

; .snTen who had greatly suffered from past years scarcity

and were in great need of help. Relief works, _ costing
L 9 725-9-10, were opened near Sibi for the .ammddrs ol

Mai and Talli and the Marris of

The majority of the permanent mhabitan s of upper

nartsofthe District and of the irrigated villages Sibi do
not usually move in times of ^^d^WlH

the Marris and Bugtis

possess only a small quantity of irrigated land, ^

oendent on dry crop cultivation and on flocks, miniate 1
Lr-e numbers to Sind. Thus for instance, the greater par .
of*the Bugti tribe left their country in the auturnn of 19 0
frd migrated with their families and flocks and herds to

Naslrdbad and Sind.

,, The District has been visited by locusts on

sions. During 1891-2 swarms of locusts devastated the

country and caused great damage to the autumn crops.

second^isitation occurred in 1897 when the locusts destroy e
a considerable portion of the crops and grazing. In 1901,
the upper part of the District was again attacked by innumer-

Ibl LrL of ayinglooosl, which 8 r« .ppcaced m Mhrch
and laid eggs in almost every circle, producing mu titu es
crawling locusts early in May. Writing about their destruc-

FAMINE.

1 6^

tioii the Political Agent said: ‘‘Energetic measures were
taken to desti'oy the eggs and young locusts, but, owing
to the Vast expanse of the country and the comparative
paucity of inhabitants, any concentrated action was most
difficult. Later in the season the locusts were attacked by
maggots which were hatched from eggs laid in the thorax of
the insects by a species of fly. Large numbers of locusts
perished from this disease It was

noticed that the fruit trees attacked by locusts did not bear
any fruit during the following season. ’’

As already referred to above the greatest safeguard
against famine lies in the migratory habits of the people, and
the proximity of protected areas. The extension of the
railway has also led to a levelling effect on the retail prices
of food at places near the line, and it maybe assumed that
the effect of adverse local conditions in such places on the
price of staple grains will be reduced to a minimum in all
years in which a good harvest is assured in Sind and the
Pimjab. It is doubtful whether there is much scope in the
District for large irrigation schemes, and the widest source
of protection probably lies in the extension of embankments
for catching flood water, though, as such schemes are de-
pendent on rainfall, they cannot be regarded as entirely pro-
tective.

Famine.

Protection.

■ j

' I

CHAPTER in.

administrative.

Administra-
tive Divi-
sions AN D
Staff. '

Cibi District is composed of two Districts which are
D technically distinct : the Sibi District which contams the
Sibi and Shdhrig tahslls and forms part of British Baluchis-
t-in and the Kolilu, Nasirabdd and Railway District which
comprises the tahsil of Kohlu, the Kohlu Railway tahsll that
is the railway line between Nari Gorge and Spintangi
stations, the Nasirdbad tahsil and Nasirdbdd Railway tarsi ,
which includes the railway from Jhatpat to Pirak Pir Taku
in the Sibi tahsil. This District forms part of the Agency
territories. For purposes of administration, the District, as
a whole, is divided into three sub-divisions: Nasirdbdd
including. the Nasirdbdd tahsil proper and the Nasirdbdd
Railway tahsil ; Sibi including Sibi, Kohlu and the Kohlu
Railway tahsil : and Shdhrig.

The ordinary head quarters staff consists of a Political
Agent for areas included in Agency territories, who is also
styled Deputy Commissioner for areas in British Baluchistdn ;
an Assistant Political Agent and Assistant Commissioner,
who is in charge of the Shdhrig Sub-division ; and an Extra
Assistant Commissioner, who holds charge of the Sibi Sub-
division. A Munsif is located at Sibi, who exercises judicial
powers in the Sibi tahsil. An Extra Assistant Commissioner
is in charge of the Nasirdbdd Sub-division. The Police force
is under the control of the District Superintendent of Police,
Quetta-Pishln District, there being an Honorary Assistant
District Superintendent of Police in immediate chatge.^ In
each of the tahsils of Nasirdbdd, Sibi and Shdhrig, Tahsilddr
and Ndib Tahsilddr are stationed. The Kohlu tahsil has
a Naib Tahsildar only, who exercises the powers of a

3 IAEIiIS AND BUGTIS, 165

Tahsildar. Their principal duty is collection of Government
reveiiiie^ but they also exercise judicial powers.

The officers in charge of the sub-divisions supervise the
collection of the revenue, occasionally personally attend to
baiai and iashkhis^ and, in subordination to the Political
Agent^ control the tribes within their limits. The village
revenue staff consists of Patwaris or Tapadars, and Kanfingos
or Supervising Tapadfirs, who are paid servants of
Government, and the village headmen, known locally as
waderaSi m/ik’ks cr kijnbarddrs, who help in the col-
lection of revenue and are ordinarily remunerated in all
tahsils, excepting Nasirdbdd where no payment is made, by
payment of 5 per cent, on the gross collections [haqA-^
?}ialikdna). The strength of the staff (1905) is shown
below : —

Tahsll,

No. of
Circles.

Kdn lingo s
or Super-
vising
Tapadars,
and Muhd-
sibs.

Patwdris

Tapadars.

Headmen.

NasiVclbdd ...

Sibi

lOI

Kohiu

1 1

Shcihrig

170

Total

330

The Political Agent exercises control through the Extra
Assistant Commissioner, Sibi, over the Marri and Bugti
tribes, and also over the Dombld and Kah^ri tribes in the
■Lahri nidbatin Kaldt territory.

So far as the Marri and Bugti tribes are concerned, as
little interference as possible is exercised in their internal
affairs, which are managed by their own chiefs and head-
men, But all murders, disputes in which resort is had to
fighting, other quarrels which are likely to lead to a serious
breach of the peace, and cases in which the infliction of the

AUMlNIStRA-
TION AND
Staff.

Control Iri
tribal areas.

Harris and
Bugtis,

i66

CHAP, III—ABMINISmATIVE,

AOMliJUSTRA*^

tion and
Staff.

Dombkis#

pimishment of imprisonment is considered necessary by the
chief, are reported to the Political Agent, and are eventually
referred to the tribal for decision, provided both parties
in the case belong to the same tribe. Cases in which the
parties belong to different tribes are also reported to the
Political Agent, and are referred to a joint jYrga composed of
the chiefs and headmen of both the tribes concerned. The
awards in all cases are submitted for confirmation to the
Political Agent through the Extra Assistant Commissioner,
Sibi. Similarly, if one party in the case is a Marri, Bugti,
Dombki or Kaheri and the other party a tribesman of the
Loralai District, the case is referred to a joint which

usually assembles at Gumbaz or Barkhdn, and the awards
of these joint jirgas are subject to confirmation both by the
Political Agent, Sibi, and the Political Agent, Loralai.
Cases between the Sibi and Ddra Ghazi Khdn tribes are
referred to the Fort Munro jirga^ and tilt jirga awards are
subject to the approval both of the Political Agent, Sibi,
and of the Deputy Commissioner, D6ra Ghdzi Khan.

iVs in the case of the Harris and Bugtis, the Dombki chief
settles all petty cases occurring among his tribesmen ; more
important disputes are reported to the Political Agent, who
generally refers them to a Dombki tribal jirga for award, on
receiving which he passes final orders. As the Dombki
country is more easily accessible than the Marri and Bugti
country and the people are more advanced, the references are
somewhat more frequent than is the case with Harris and
Bugtis, but care is taken by the Political Agent not to inter-
fere more than is absolutely necessary in purely Dombki cases.
The cases between the Dombkis and His Highness the Khdn’s
subjects are dealt with in accordance with the award given
by the Sibi shdhi jirga, dated the 8th of February 1898.
The main provisions of this award are: that the cases in
which one party is a Dombki and the other a subject of the
Khan should ordinarily be referred to the shdhi jirga at Sibi
or Quetta, and that if it should be necessary for the Dombki
chief to arrest an offender who is a subject of the Khdo, the
man should be immediately handed over to the Levy Risdlddr

JUDICIAL.

167

at Lahri for transmission to the Extra Assistant Conimis- Administra-
sioiier at Sibi ; cases in which both the parties are the
Khiin's subjects are to be disposed of by the Khdn’s nmb at
Lahri in consultation with the Dombki chief.

The present Kahen headman, Muhammad Baka Khdn Kah^ris.
(1905), has very little influence in the tribe, and almost
all cases occurring in Chhattar and Phult^ji are referred
to local or shdhz jtrgas^ according' to the nature of the
cases, the awards being subject to the approval of the
Political Agent. The Kaheris are gradually losing their
cohesion as a tribe, a natural effect of peace and- advancing
civilisation, and there is an increasing tendency for their
cases to be reported to and dealt with in the first instance by
the Extra Assistant Commissioner, Sibi.

Between 18718-1880 certain Indian Laws were made appli- Judicial.
cable to the District, as then constituted, under the authority Laws,
of the Government of India. In 1890 the Baluchistan Laws
Law and Regulation, the Forest Law and Regulation, and the
Civil Justice and Criminal Justice Law and Regulation were
enacted for the Agency Territories and British Baluchistan
and applied to the District. The last two were modified in
1893 and re-enacted in 1896. The circumstances of the Dis-
trict have not so far necessitated the enactment of any
special laws for it. The Stage Carriages Act has been ap-
plied to carriages plying on the Kach-Ziarat and the
Harnai-Loralai roads ; and the whole of the Public Gamb-
ling Act, III of 1867, has been extended to all the villages in
the Harnai revenue circle of the Shdhrig tahsil to the Civil
station of Zidrat, to all railway stations and bazars at those
stations, and to the military station, railway station and
town of Sibi. Sections 13, 14 and the last 26 words of sec-
tion 15 of the Indian Arms Act have been extended to the
Municipality of Sibi, to ail railw^ay lands in British Baiuchis-
tdn, to the civil station of Kohlu, to Zidrat and to the
bazars at- all the railway stations in the District,

Legal practitioners are not allowed to practise in the
courts generally, but a pleader may appear in a court in any

Judicial*'

Admin istra*
lion of Civil
and Crimi-
nal Justice*

i68 CHAP, III— ADMINISTRATIVE,

particular case, whether civil or criminal, with the perniis-
sion of the Agent to the Governor-General and Chief Com-
missioner. Petition writers are of two grades and their ap-
pointment is regulated by rules issued by the Judicial Com-
missioner in 1898. On the 31st of March 1905 there were
four first grade and seven second grade petition writers in the
District,

The Political xAgent and Deputy Commissioner combines
the offices of Magistrate of the first class, District Magistrate
and Sessions Judge, and is a Justice of the Peace* In
respect of civil justice he possesses jurisdiction to try
original suits without limit as regards value. A decree or
order made by him in an original suit of value not exceeding
five hundred rupees and in appellate suits the value in
which does not exceed one thousand rupees, is final and
subject only to revision. In criminal trials no appeal lies in
cases in which he passes a sentence of imprisonment not
exceeding one year, or of fine not exceeding one thousand
rupees, or of whipping, or of all or any of these punishments
combined. The Political Agent is also a Registrar for
Births, Deaths and Marriages. The following table shows
the subordinate courts, their ordinary powers and the courts
to which appeals lie : —

170

CHAP. Ill— ADMINISTRATIVE.

I’l

Judicial.

Civil Justice.

‘ I

If I

i ’ 1

Table XOI, Volume B, gives details of the civil suits
disposed of by various courts in the old Thai Chotiali Dis-
trict. In the quinquennial period, 1893-4 to 1897-85 the
average annual number disposed of was 15804, of which
1,237 were original, 36 appellate and 531 cases for execution
of decree ; during the quinquennial period ending with the
31st of March 1903, the annual average fell to 1,753, and in
1904-5 to 1,318, of which 822 were original, 13 appellate and
483 cases for execution of decree. During the year 1904
the total number of original suits instituted in the courts
was 744,* and their aggregate value was Rs. 81,653, or an
average of about Rs no per case. The number of cases,
the value in which exceeded Rs. 500, was 4 only ; whilst the
number of those, of which the value was under Rs. 100, was
648 or about 87 per cent, of the total. The majority of
these civil suits occur in the town of Sibi and the Railway
bazars, most of the parties being people from India engaged
in trade and labour. The Hindus residing and trading in
important villages also generally resort to the civil courts.
Of the 744 cases decided in 1904, 705 or about 95 per cent,
were suits for money or moveable property ; the remainder
consisted of suits relating to immoveable property (17); the
right of pre-emption (5) ; miscellaneous (15) and matrimonial
claims. The number of the last named cases was 2.

In 18 cases only appeals were preferred, and this small
number is due to the restrictions on this class of cases
contained in the Civil Justice Law and Regulation, to which
reference has already been made.

The majority of civil suits instituted are for money and
moveable property. The gradual fall in the number of
suits may be ascribed to the decrease of population in the
railway bazars, consequent on the cessation of large works
on the railway and elsewhere which attracted a large alien
population and gave rise to petty suits for debt, wages and
advances for works.

Appeals and applications for revision in civil cases are
generally filed in complicated cases or where the subject
matter in dispute is not of a trifling nature. The results of
appeals to the Deputy Commissioner, the Assistant Political

* These figures are for the calendar 3’'ear, while those given in the
table are for the financial year.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE. 171

Ao-ent and the Extra Assistant Commissioners and of appli- jumcrAi.
cations for revision to the Deputy Commissioner between

1901 and 1904 are given below

Civil Remand-

appeals Amended.
upheld.

Rejected.

(a) 2 pending* at the end of the year.

(h) 7 » »»

(d) i ,,

The Political Agent remarks in respect of execution oi
decree cases “that tlie judgment debtors generally pay money
by instalments, as the suits are of the nature of simple
money matters, and there are very few cases in which appli-
cations are infructuous.” , , i ^ • t

Details of the criminal cases disposed ot in the old Thai Cnm.nal

Chotiali District during the decennial period^ ending wit
the 31st of March 1903 are given in table XIV, Vo •

The annual average daring the quinquennial period, 1893-4
to 1897-8, was 578, of which 557 were original and 21 appel-
late. In the second quinquennial period the annual aveiage
fell to 442, of which 429 were original and 13 appellate. In
iQ04-Vthe total number of criminal cases disposed of was
332. of which 316 were original and 16 appellate. The petty
nature of the crime thus dealt with is indicated by the fact
that qS per cant, of the average number of original cases
disposed of during the second quinquennial period were
decided by courts subordinate to the District Court, and in
1904-5 out of 316 original cases 315 were disposed of by'
these courts. During the calendar year 1904 the num ei o
cases brought to trial was 269, of which 35 or i3 pei cen .
were petty cases, punishable under Local and Special Laws^

1901

1902
5903
1904

172

CHAP. m-^ADMlNISTPATIVE,

Judicial.

jjfg’a cases.

of the police powers to the crime committed in towns,
railway stations and bazars, the crime occurring among the
indigenous population being dealt with by the levies.

The system of the disposal of disputes of all sorts by the
elders of villages or tribes is indigenous to, the country ; the
procedure is simple and has many advantages. It has been
regularised from time to time by certain special regulations,
the latest being the Frontier Crimes Regulation (111) ol
1901, which has been applied and extended to the Agency
Territories and British Baluchistan with certain modifica-
tions. The system possesses special advantages when
worked in conjunction with the i.evy system, under which
crime in certain areas outside the towns is investigated by
the headmen and levies. At the same time it requires con-
tinuous supervision by the District Officers to prevent abuses
such as spring* from ignorance and partialit}-. Ordinary
cases are referred to a Council of Elders of not less than
three members, selected from among the headmen of villages
and leading men of tribes, while those which involve any
question of principle or affect two or more tribes or two
districts are referred to the shdht jirgas, which assemble in
Sibi in the winter and in Quetta in the autumn, or to the
inter-pt'ovincial which is held at Fort Munro once a

year in September, It is the function of the jirga to come
to a finding of fact on the issues placed before them, and its
award is then submitted to the Deputy Commissioner, with
whom alone lies the power of passing final orders in the case
of determining and awarding punishment under the Regu-
lation. Ordinarily the Political Agent may sentence an
offender to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment ; a sentence
exceeding this term up to a maximum of 14 years must be
confirmed by the Agent to the Governor-Genera! and Chief
Commissioner. No appeal lies from awards passed by the
Political Agent and Deputy Commissioner, but his orders
are subject to revision by the x\gent to the Governor-General
and Chief Commissioner.

The annual average number of cases decided in the quin-
quennial periods from 1893 to 1898 and from 1898 to 1903

/IRGAS.

173

was 369 and 855 respectively, the numbers referred to Judicial.
local, shdhi and other jirgas being as under

— ■

Quinquennial

period from

1904-5.

— —

1893-4 to

I 1898-9 to

1897-8.

t {902-3.

Shiihi jirgas ...
Local jirgas ...
Fori; Munro jirgas
Marri-Bugti jirgas

123

278

203

252

Local, joint,
Shdhi, and
inter-provin.

Of the 624 cases disposed of during 1904-5, 9 were cases ot
murder, 46 of robbery, 38 of adultery, 21 of adultery
with murder, 149 of cattle-lifting, 29 of land revenue, 42
of betrothal and marriage, whilst 238 cases concerned
miscellaneous matters ; 48 were inter-provincial and 4 were
cases between the Marri and the Bugti tribes. Details will
be found in District table XV, Volume B.

Almost all cases occurring among the tribesmen ot tie
District are referred to local jirgas, and they include murder, _

adultery, matrimonial suits, theft, cattle-lifting and land, etc. cal ,rga

It is the policy to restrict investigations by the police, so fai
as possible, to cases occurring among the non-indigenous
inh^itants of the towns and bazars. be-

tween the tribesmen of the Sibi and the Loralai Districts aic
referred to joint jirgas. Cases in which no satisfa^ory
settlements have been arrived at in local or joint jtrgus,
important and serious cases of adultery, murder, matrimony
and immoveable property and those affecting triba custom 01
two districts or tribes are referred to Shahi
cases between the tribesmen of Sibi and the Dera Ghazi
Khdn Districts, serious cases among the tribesmen of the
District which require an early settlement and cannot be
postponed till the Quetta and Sibi Shdhi Jirgas, and cases m
which the parties belong to places in the neighbomhood of

Fort Munro are referred to the inter-provmcial held

there in September every year. As cases occurring etween

174

CHAP. III-^ADMINISTRATIVE.

tribes in Baluchistan on the one hand and in the Punjab on
the other frequently assume serious proportions, if not
nipped in the bud, certain rules, under which reports of
inter-provincial cases are made to the Political officers con-
cerned, were framed in September 1882 by Mr. R. I. Bruce,
CJ.K., First Assistant to the Ag'ent to the Governor-
General in Baluchistan and Mr. (now Sir Frederick) Fryer,
Deput}^ Commissioner, Dera Ghazi Khan, and were notified
in darharto the assembled chiefs. They run as follows : —
Rule /.--In all cases of theft or other crime occur-
rin*^ under such circumstances that the members of one
tribe suspect that the offenders belong to another tribe, an
immediate report must be made to the Political officer in
charge of the tribe which has suffered, and, if no report is
made within one month of the occurrence of the case,
no redress shall afteiwvards be given unless good cause
he shown for the failure to report.

Rule IL — In cases in which cattle or other live-stock
are missing, and it has not been ascertained whether the
cattle or other live-stock have been stolen or have strayed
a report must be made that the property is missing ; and
should the property be afterwards ascertained to have been
stolen or misappropriated, a subsequent report will be
required setting forth what tribe or what persons are
suspected. Notice that the property is missing must be
sent in within a month of its being missed.

Rule ///.-— In cases Nos. i and 2 it is not necessary that
the thieves or the tribe to which they are supposed to
belong, should be named in the first instance ; but inform-
ation on these points must be given as soon as it is obtained.

Rule IV . — In all cases in which members of one tribe
seek refuge wdth any other tribe on account of any crime
they may have committed, or on account of alleged griev-
ances, the chiefs of the tribe to which such refugees belong
must send an immediate report stating with what tribe
the refugees have taken shelter.

Rule V . — The chief of any tribe in which a refugee may
seek shelter shall inform the Political officer in charge
of his tribe as soon as the act comes to his notice,

Rtile VI — Whenever a case which has been duly report-
ed is settled without the intervention of a Political officer

PREVALENT CRIME.

175

a report must be submitted by the chief of the tribe or
tribes showing the manner in which it has been settled,
and such settlement shall be subject to the approval of the
Political officers concerned.

Rule VH , — All reports made under these rules to a
Political officer shall be at once communicated by him to
the Political officer who may be in charge of any tribe or
tribes implicated in the report.

Local sarddrs^ ?uolabars^ and maliksy who are conversant
with the customs of the people and who are men of influence
are selected to sit on the local jRgas ; whilst chiefs and
headmen of standing among the tribes, especially those
whose tribesmen are concerned, are chosen as members of
the Shdhi Jirgas. In the case of the Fort Munro Jirgas,
invitations to attend are generally confined to chiefs of
important tribes.

Of the cases which go before the jirgas^ cattle-lifting is
most prevalent among the Marris and Brahuis, adultery in
the Sibi and Shahrig tahsils and the Marri country, and
adultery with murder in the Marri country and in some parts
of the Sibi sub-division. Among the Marris and pure Baioch
tribes it has long been the custom for both adulterer and
a4ulteress to be killed, and if the former escapes the latter
is generally killed. For the last few’ years, however, such
murderers have been imprisoned, and this has had a deterrent
effect in following the above custom. The Marris and
Bugtis were given a savad by Sir Robert Sandeman in which
they were assured, among other things, that the British
Government would not interfere in their matrimonial affairs,
and consequently there are many cases among the Marris of
the deliberate murder of their wives. In comparison with
the Marris the Bugtis do not seem to take so much advan-
tage of this state of affairs. Perhaps this is because they are
so much better managed by their chief and his family.

In the majority of cases the awards of the Jirgas are
acceptable to the parties concerned.

Fanatical attacks on Europeans especially and non-Muham-
madansWere unfortunately of somewhat frequent occurrence
in the old Thai Chotiali District, and during the decade
ending with the 31st of March 1903 there were 12 such cases,
the most conspicuous being the outrage committed, in

JUDICiAU

System of ,
selection of
members.

Prevalent

crime.

Acceptance
of findings
by parties
and appeals.

Fanatical

outrages.

jlJDIClAL.

Registration.

176 CHAP. 1 II~ADMIN 1 STRATIVE.

October 1896. by six Thingidni Marris at the Railway stations
of Sunari and Dalujdl in which eleven men including a
European platelayer, were murdered ; that perpetrated on the
14th of March .898, at the Smallan DSk Bungalow by one
Arsala, an Utmdnkh^l of the Bori tahsil, on Lieutenant-
Colonel Gaisford, the Political Agent of the District, and an
attempted attack on Captain and Mrs. Spence by Nidz
Muhammad Brdhui of Sarlabin the Quetta-Pishin District on
the nth of February 1899 at Sibi. The majority of these
cases may be ascribed directly to religious fanaticism, but
other causes, such as family or tribal quarrels and physical
incapacity, frequently contribute to induce the murderers to
turn fanatic and court death as the penalty ot their act.

Closer acquaintance with British methods, however, ^the gene-
ral pacification of the country, the enforcement of village and
tribal responsibility and the presence of strong bodies of troops
and police are resulting in a gradual diminution of the crime.

Fanatical cases are dealt with under the Murderous Out-
rages Regulation, IV of 1901. Among its more important
provisions may be mentioned the power which it gives to the
Sessions Judge or Deputy Commissioner of the District or to
any Magistrate of the first class specially empowered by the
Local Government or the Sessions Judge or the Deputy
Commissioner, after the commission of an offence, to try a
fanatic, to pass orders as to the disposal of the offenders
body if he is convicted, and to forfeit all his property to
Government. No appeal lies from any order made or sen-
tence passed under the Regulation, and the court may, on the
recommendation of a Council of Elders or alter such inquiry
as it may deem necessary, take measures against any commu-
nity or individual with whom a fanatic is or has been
associated in circumstances which satisfy it that, by reason-
able prudence or diligence on the part of the community or
individual, the commission or attempted commission of the
offence might have been prevented. They include fine and
forfeiture of revenue-free grants, remissions and allowances.

The provisions of the Indian Registration Act, III of 1877,
were adopted for guidance from 1881 and the Act was form-
ally extended to the District in 1890. The Political Agent
and Deputy Commissioner is the Registrar and the Tahsil-
ddrs of Nasirdbdd, Sibi and Shdhrig and the Naib Tahsilddr

J^EGISTR AT/ON.

Details of the documents relating to mortgage and sale of
imoveable property, which were registered in the Sibi,
asirdbdd and Shahrig Sub-districts in the year 1904-5, show

of Kohiu are Sub Registrars within their respective Sub-
districts. The Miinslf of Sibi is Joint Sub-Registrar of
the Sibi Sub-district, The people of Sibi are beginning to
realize the advantages afforded by registration, whilst those
of Kohiu and Shahrig are still ignorant of them. A Registra-
tion office has been opened m Nasirabcid since 1904. Prior
to that documents covering large transactions between the
people of that place and Sind were registered in the Sind
offices, chiefly at Jacobabad. In Kohiu, transactions are
made by verbal agreements, whilst in Nasirabad and Shahrig
they are drawn up by the petition-writers or miillas. Muta-
tion Registers have not yet been opened in Nasirabad. They
exist in Kohiu, but the people do not take advantage of them.
Mutation Registers have been started in Sibi and Shahrig
from the year 1903-4. Table XVI, Volume B, shows in detail
the number of documents registered, the revenue realized and
the expenditure incurred in connection with registration
during each of the twelve years 1893-4 to 1904-5, and the
following abstract indicates the general nature of the small
amount of work which is done ; —

Annual average of jo years, 189^4 to 1902-3.

Documents regis-
tered.

Optional.

1904.5.

Documents regis-
tered.

Optional.

jUMCIAU

Number of offices.

Judicial.

Finance.

Historical.

178 • CHAP. HI.— ADMINISTRATIVE.

that excluding transactions between non-agriculturists 4
that, ,7 mortgages and 27 sales out of

mortgages between cultivators them-

V H T-, resoectively, the transactions generally

numbered 5 and ^ ^ d in Sibi and

taking place with Hinuus, total

,h. .^rroundins .'.Hag- fo' 'T,le«y r L

number of documents affecting immoveable ptopeitj re

Lredin the district during the calendar year >904 »as 69,

If Lch the registration of 67, valued at Rs. 40,739. "•

compulsorv, whilst that of a, valued at Rs^ , 45 ,

Those affecting- moveable property numb

lined fRs. 4,687, whilst „ miscellaneous documents were

" oT't'ht first formation of the Tn.l Chotiall District, the
relle andeapenditur. were classed as
rluded in the general accounts. In 1890 the Police
evt services w^re provincialised, and in the following year
the revenue and expenditure of Kohlu were also included
under the Special Revenues. From the ist of April, 1897,
fresh quasi-provincial settlement was sanctioned for a period
of five years for the whole of the Baluchistdn Agency, includ-
L 'the Kohlu, Sibi and Shdhrig tahsils. The setdement was
agdn renewed fro.u April 1, 19-, and now includes the

Nasirabdd tahsil (1905). _ *

Table XVII, Volume B, shows the provincial revenue re-
ceipts of the Sibi, Shdhrig and Kohlu tahsils for the perio

from 1897-8 to 190-3- and for the whole District for 1903-4
and 1904-5. The principal sources of income are Land Reve-
nue, Lcise and Stamps, to which are added minor items
under Salt, Law and Justice, Jails, Registration, Assessed
Taxes Public Works and Miscellaneous. The annual re-
ceipts’ during the quinquennial period of 1897-8 to 1901-2
averaged Rs. 1,71,680, to which Land Revenue contributed
Rs. 1,38,204, Excise 12,194, Stamps 8,820 and other items

Rs 12462. In 1902-3, the receipts amounted to Rs. 1,62,841,

while in 1904-5 they rose to Rs. 2,98,623, the increase being
chiefly due to the inclusion of the revenues of the Nasirdbdd

tahsIL Out of the total amount, Land Revenue contributed Finance.
Rs. 2,37,957 or about 8o per cent. Excise Rs. 25,288, Stamps
Rs. 11,542,5 Law and Justice Rs. 12,28 1 and the balance of
Rs. 11,555 was made up of Salt, Registration, Jails, Medical,
Miscellaneous and Public Works.

The Ain-i-Akbari informs us that in the time of the Emper- Land
or Akbar, at the end of the sixteenth century, the districts
or mahdls of the Chalgari or the Harnai valley formed part of revenue
the province of Kandahar, while Sibi belonged to Multdn.

The former District was required to furnish a force of 200
horse and 300 footmen, 12 tunums in money and 415 kkar-
wars of grain, and the latter paid 1,381,930 dmni^ equivalent
to about Rs. 13,000, and furnished a force of 500 cavalry and
1,500 foot. The revenue paid by Kohlu and Naslrabad can-
not be ascertained, as they did not constitute separate dis-
tricts.

Under the Afghan rule, Kach, Kowas and Ahmaddn were siulhrig

associated with the mahdl of Pishm for administrative pur-

^ Early reve-

poses. They originally paid no land revenue, but were re- nue history
quire d to furnish a number of men-at-arms or iiaukars for the
service of Government. Subsequently the liability to military
service was commuted to a money payment. In 1833 A.D.

Pishin was assigned to one Khushdil Khan, a deputy of the
governors of Kandahar, as B,jdgh\ and the revenue on Ahma-
kdn and Khawas was fixed at 120 and 480 Kandahdri rupees
respectively. The tax fell entirely on the Tarins and Raisanis,
the Pdnezais and Sdraiigzais being exempt from all payments.

Referring to the revenue paid by the inhabitants of Zawar
(Harnai) valley, Dr. Duke f wrote as follows in 1882 ■

The Mekhianis state that Nadir Shdh was the first prince

* iumafi is equal to 800 ddms,

ddms equBA to i iahrdsi rupee*

8 rupees equal to 3 Indian rupees.

Vide A hi- i’ Akbar Voi. I, page 31, and Vol. II, page 303. Mr. Duke's
report on Harnai and Thai Chotiali, page 4, may also be consulted.

' Kandahari rupee=| Indian rupee,

f Dr. Duke*s report on Harnai and Thai Chotiali^ p&ges 96 and 97.

EARLY REVENUE HISTORY.

Land

Revenue*.

i8o CHAP, IIL—ADMINISTRATIVE,

who taxed them. Ahmad Shah Durrdni imposed a house tax^
and doubtless he took a capitation and cattle tax. So long
as the Durranis ruled at Kandahar, these taxes were paid in
an irregular manner, but, since the transfer of the seat of
power to Kabul, no definite system of taxation has been
followed until quite lately. Occasional revenue raids were
carried out sometimes by the Batdzais of Pishi'n, who took
Zawar on their way to Thai or Sibi and sometimes by
the Durranis of Shalkot. The Barfizais of Sibi endeavour to
prove that Zawar was included in their districts by Ahmad
Shah Durrani, but this fact is not mentioned in the sanad
given to them by him. The Zawar people entirely deny their
assertion, and, as has already been showm in the chapter on
Sewistan, there is no doubt that Zawar has always been held
as a separate district or mdhal. The revenue raids above
alluded to were most oppressive. It is probable that the
Amir granted the Zawar revenues in payment of claims, and
that the claimants had to get all they could without any assist-
ance from the Amir. On some occasions they took as much
as Rs. 6,000 Kalddr at one visit and they always drove off a
number of sheep. The Bdbihan people at one time assumed
a permanent attitude of rebellion ; they left their homes and
lived in the hills to the north of Babihdn for five years. At
length the Zawar people appointed a deputation in 1874
1875 Amir Shdr Ali Khan at Kdbul, The Amir

received the Maliks and arranged a tax of Rs. 624 Kalddr on
the Mekhidnis and Rs, 300 on the Wandchis ; further one
lamb in 40 and one sheep in 100 w^ere to be given. The
Harnai people have no documents to produce in support of
this statement, and I put down the amounts exactly as given
by themselves. On the return of the deputation, the Zawar
people held a jirga and arranged for the proper distribution
of the tax amongst themsekes. Zawar from Khost to Babi-
hdn inclusive was divided into 'i&p pakhas or shares; this
division was made on an estimate of the value of the soil, of

AW^. — British Indian rupees.

3fOD£I^N REVENUE HISTORY. i8i

the availability of the water-supply, etc., of e-dch pakha. The
shares fell as follows : —

Number of villages.

Total
pakha of
each vil-
lage.

Mild Jit

Balance.

Sunari

Loara Tuka

...

Bell

‘J

Zabarwal

...

Harnai

•• •

120

Ghurmi

...

Gachina

Nfikas and-'Raghni

... ...

Chhajju and Wargt

... ...

...

Dorn Kach

...

Punga

... ...

...

Shfihrig

...

Khost

...

Total

...

34 oi

333

This arrangement has to a certain extent been since modi-
fied by the interchange of lands by purchase and sale, but its
general lines are perfectly understood by the people, who
have no difficulty whatever in arranging for the alteration in
incidence of taxation which these transfers of land revenue
have involved.”

During 1879 and 1880, Kach Ahmaddn and Kowds formed
part of Pishin tahsil. The details of the revenue recovered
during the former year are not available, but in July 1880
Captain H, Wylie, the Political Officer then in charge,
collected 651 maunds of grain and a small sum of Rs. 486 on

Land

Revenue.

Modern

revenue

history.

CHAP. m-^^ADMlNISTRATIVE.

182

' Lano
Revenue,

account of a poll-tax on sheep and cattles the total collection
amounting to Rs. 3,914. In 1881 the assessment was fixed
at 1,000 maunds of grain, divided into 20 shares to be paid as
shown below : —

Tad 11s, 10 shares

Pdn^zais, 6

Kovvas

454 maunds.

Ahmadun

46 ,, '

Dirgi

100 ,,

China

100 ,,

Kach Ama-

diin, Kazzha

and Kahd/ii

100 ,,

Sarangzais, 3 shares ...
Isakh 61 s, i share

800 ,,

^50 „

1,000 ,,

This assessment, which was assumed to represent approxi-
mately one-sixth of the gross produce, continued up to the
end of 1888-9, In 1889-90 the assessment was fixed at 3,300
maunds of grain, and subsequently up to 1895, when cash
assessments were introduced, the revenue was collected by
appraisement or kanhit, the rate being one-sixth of the total
produce. In the Harnai valley, revenue w^as first levied in
1880 at the rate of one-sixth of the gross produce of the
villages of Harnai and Sunari, the collections amounting to
Rs. 7,502^ In the following year, 1881-2, revenue was col-
lected from the whole valley and amounted to Rs. 14,121,
From 1882 to 1895 revenue of the whole of the Shdhrig
tahsil was assessed by kankiit or appraisement at the rate of
one-sixth of the produce. In 1895 a cash assessment was
introduced by Major Mclvor, which amounted to Rs. 21,948
and was levied on all villages having a permanent source of
irrigation on the basis of the revenue taken by kankiU during
five preceding years. This assessment was first sanctioned for
three years, but was subsequently extended up to the 31st of

SIBI TAHSIL.

March igoi, and the annual income up to the year 1900-01
was as under : —

Years. K-S. a. p.

1S95-6 21,912 o o

1896- 7

1897- 8

1 898- 9
1S99-1900
1900-01

20,569 12
20,645 13
21,968 3

22,004 13
21,948 4

The revenue of Sibi under the Afghdn Government varied
considerably from time to time, both in amount and in the
method of its collection. In 1839 A.D. the sum of Rs, 11,000
appears to have been realized, but it is not known whether
it was levied in kind or cash. The next collection, of which
accounts are available, was in 1842, the last year of the
temporary occupation of the District by the British Govern-
ment. This collection was made in kind at the rate of one-
third of the produce of the rabi harvest and one-fifth of the

kharify and the total revenue thus realized amounted to

Rs. 36,845(^2:^/ Rs, 33,957, Rs. 2,888). For the

next few years, after the British evacuation, the same system

Land

Revenue.

The tahsil was brought under Settlement in 1901-2, and
the revenue obtained during that year under the new system
amounted to Rs. 30,581 including grazing tax.

In 1904-5 the total land revenue was Rs. 27,332 as shown
below : —

Land Rezmitie, Rs.

[a) By fixed assessment ... ... i 9 j ^47

{h) By temporary cash assessment ... 6

Grasping 7 ax,

(a) Settled inhabitants —

( i) By enumeration ... ... ... 4 * 7^9

(ii) By ijara ...
ib) Nomads —

( i) By enumeration ... ... ... 650

(ii) By i/dra

Miscellaneous, including water mills, etc. 600

Sibi tahsil.
Early
Revenue
historv.

Land

Eevenue.

Modern

Revenue

history.

184 chap: III- ADMINISTRATIVE.

of revenue was maintained by the Bdrdzai sarddrs and the
annual collections averaged about Rs. 30,000. In 1846 a
return was made to the former system of a permanent cash
assessment, and the revenue in kind was commuted for a
fixed payment of Rs. 10,000 a year, which was collected
through the sarddr oi the Bardzai tribe, in whose family the
office of 7idib or local governor was hereditary. The whole
of this amount with the exception of Rs. 400 was assessed
on lands irrigated from the Ndri river, and was distributed
according to the shares {pdos) of water, which were divided
among the different tribes. No revenue was taken from the
Kurks, as their lands formed th^jagir of the Bdrdzai chief.
The lands now known as the Municipal lands,” which had
been granted by the Afghdn Government to the Bdriizai chiefs
and were called the hdghdt or garden lands, also paid no
revenue. The details of the Sibi assessment were as under : —

Rs.

Fanis

f Marghzinis 8 pdos Sit 220-^-o each = 1,762-0 0 ']
i Sdfis 8 ,, ,, n = 1,762-0-0

^ Dehpdls 6 ,, 220-2-8 ,, = 1,321-0-0

L Mizris 4 ,, 220-2-0 ,, = 880-8-0 J

Khajaks 8 at 337-0-0 each, one share being

held by each section ...

Nodhdnis of Gulu Shahr 2 pdos at 1

337-0-0 each ... = 674-0-0 j-

Tax on Hindus and kamins of Gulu Shahr. 100-0-0 j
Ghuldm Bolaks i pdo at 337-0-0 = 337-0-0I

Shakar Khdn Marghzdni for land at Ghuldm

a. p,

i^S»72S 8 a

Mai

Sing

Sulphur Mine

Bolafc purchased from
pakha pay

the Raisinis about |

1 67-8-0 J

2,696 o o
774 oc>

504 8 o

lOO o o

TOO O O
ICO o o

10,000 o o

This system continued up to the year 1878, when Sibi was
ceded to the British Government.

In 1878-9, which was the first year of British re-
occupation, the revenue was collected in accordance with the
existing Afghin practice, and the total income thus obtained
amounted to Rs. 9,683. In the following year the system of
collection in kind was reverted to, and under the orders of
Sir Robert Sandeman the Government share of the produce

SlBl TAHSIL.

185

was fixed at one-sixth of the total produce of both the spring
and the autumn harvests. In addition to the above, 4I kdsas
of grain per kharwdr were taken on account of certain cesses*
The change was followed by a large and immediate increase
of revenue which amounted to Rs. 33»93o in 1879-80 and to
Rs. 58,674 in i88o-i. In 1891 the cesses were abolished
and the revenue rate was raised from one-sixth to two-ninths
of the produce. This rate is still in force (1905). In Sdiigdii
the rate is one-fourth, half of which is paid to the Bdrt'izai
Jdgirddrs ; in Ldkhi it is one-sixth; and in Quat-Mandai
one-twelfth, the Marri chief receiving an equal amount The
assessment of the Sibi Municipal lands varies from Rs. 2-8-0
to Rs. 4 per acre. Up to 1899 the whole of the income
derived from these lands was credited to the Sibi Municipal
Funds, but in April 1900 it was decided that these funds
should contribute a sum of Rs. 746-11-0 to the Provincal
Revenues per annum on account of revenue, the assessment^,
which was fixed for a period of ten years, being based on
one-fourth of the Municipal receipts from the lands under
cultivation.

The total revenue of the tahsil in
Rs 42,808 as detailed below: —

1904-5 amounted

Lcmd Revenue,

Rs.

[a) By fixed assessment...

[b) By temporary cash assessment

... 2,018

...35,666

G rasing Tax,

(a) Settled inhabitants —

(i ) By enumeration .»•

... 1,046

(ii) By ijdra

... 1,451

(b) Nomads —

(i) By enumeration

- 1,437

(ii) ijdra

Miscellaneous, including water mills,

etc.... 1,190

The revenue is levied mostly by batai, tashkhis or appraise-
ment being only resorted to in cases of small isolated plots
of land.

Writing in 1885 on the subject of the introduction of cash

* Papers relating to Settlement of Sibi Municipah lands, 1899,
Dp. 24 to 26,

Land

Revenue.

i86

CHAP. IIL— ADMINISTRATIVE.

.Land

Revenue.

assessment into the Ag’ency, Mr. R. I. Bruce, C.LE., at
that time Political Agent of the then district of Thai Chotiali,
said: “It would in jiiy opinion be very premature to think
of introducing cash collections into Sibi. It is to the lands
watered from hill torrents that we must look mainly for our
future increase in the Sibi revenues, and in all probability it
will take about ten years before the revenues of the country
in that direction are fully developed. Moreover, it seems
very questionable whether cash collections are suitable for
lands watered by hill torrents where the fluctuations of
produce are so incalculable and where the people are poor
and cash is scarce. The floods on this frontier are so uncer-
tain and variable that often successive dry seasons occur,
followed by a season of copious floods and a bumper harvest.
In the dry seasons, the people seek other means ot livelihood,
and they do not feel the small quantity of Government grain
taken from them as a hardship, while they would be sorely
tried to pay any average cash assessment; whereas a good
flood season pays the Government for many years of failure,
leaving the people abundance and to spare. Besides in a
small compact and very fertile tract like that of Sibi, where
supervision is, comparatively speaking, easy, some of the
chief objections to collections in kind do not apply.”

The revenue survey of the Sibi tahsil was completed in
May I go I, but it was not considered advisable to impose a
cash assessment, and the revenue at the present time (1905),
with the exception of that on certain miscellaneous crops, is
still levied in kind.

The following table shows the rates of cash assessment on
miscellaneous crops in the tahsil : —

Name of place.

Rabisahz khurda
per acre.

Sweet melons per
acre.

Water melons per
acre.

Onions per acre.

Lucerne per acre.

Carrots and other
veg-etables per
acre.

Kharif sabz hhuv
da per acre.

Rs. a« p.

Rs.

Rs. a. p.

Sibi, at two-ninths

II I 10

6 10 8

Silng^n, at one-

fourth

' 12 8 0

f, 1

780

Quat-Mandai at

one-sixth

8 S 4

[ ^

500

KOffL'U TAHStL. ^ ' 1S7

Government takes no share of the straw of the bdjri^ shdli^
cfiina^ kangni and sarshaf crops, but as regards all other
crops the share of the straw is the same as that of the grain
{1905), Up to the year 1880 no share of bhitsa was taken
in the Sibi tabsil. In i88i, it was taken at one netful (about
2 maunds) per pdo of water and the rate was doubled in 1882*
In 1S84, a fixed amount of 8,000 maunds was taken from the
irrigated lands. In 1896-7 the share was fixed at one-sixth,
and this rate was continued up to March 1898, when it was
raised to two-ninths, the rate at which the grain was assessed.
Up to the end of the year 1895-6 the Government share of
the karbi was fixed each year, and was paid for by the
mminddrs in cash at the rate of 4 annas per load. During
1896-7 it was assessed at 20 bullock-loads per pdo of
water and was paid for in cash at 6 annas a load. In 1898
an agreement was made for a term of five years with the
zmninddrsy by which i maund of karbi was assessed for every
maund of jiidr and was paid for in cash at the rate of 9
pies per maund. This assessment was renewed in 1902
for a further period of five years and is now in force

(1905)-

Before the British occupation, this valley was independent
and paid no revenue. The Zarki'in and the Marri chiefs,
however, recovered the following taxes from their respective
tribes : —

Taxes levied by the Zarkiin Chiefs.

(1) One sheep for every flock of fifty or above {da 7 i).

(2) I seer of grain for every milch cow above three

years of age.

(3) 5 ^ (^1 Government maunds) of wheat from

each zaminddf at the rahi harvest.

(4) All equal share of the loot obtained by a raiding

party consisting of ten men or under, and a

panjtik or one-fifth in other cases.

Taxes recovered by the Marri Chief ,

(1) Panjiik or one-fifth of the loot,

(2) A sheep or a goat from each flock as

Land

Revenue.

Kohlu

tahsll.

Early

revenue

history.

Land

Revenue.

Modern

'revenue

history.

t88 chap. III~-ADMimSTPATIVE.

In addition to the above, import and export duties known
as sung were levied on all merchandise passing through the
valley at the rate of 4 annas per camel load. The duties
levied from the villages of Oriydni, Malikzai and Shirini were
taken by the Z irkdns, and those collected from other villages
by the Marris. The anniial income of the Zarkdn chief
from this source is said to have amounted to about Rs. 50,

Excluding revenue free-holdings, there are three descrip-
tions of revenue paying land in the Kohlu valley : (i) the land
belonging to the Zarkdn tribesmen, (2) the or lands

assigned to the Marris by the Zarkdiis when the former were
called in to assist the Zarkdns against the Bugtis, and (3) the
sarMan'd or lands purchased by the Marris from the Zarkdns
before the Muranj Settlement of 1892. The Zarkdn lands
pay one-sixth of the produce to Government ; the fmrds lands
one-twelfth to Government and one-twelfth to the Marri chief,
and the owners of the sarkharid land pay one-twelfth to
Government and 30 ginds or about 120 maunds of grain per
annum to the Marri chief. The revenue is taken partly by
batai and partly by tashkhis. In 1892-3, the first year of
British occupation, when one-half was remitted, it amounted
to Rs. 6,269, present year (1904-5) to Rs, 12,122

as detailed below : —

Land Revenue,

[a] By fixed assessment

(Z») By batai or iashkhis in kind

Grazing Tax.

(a) Settled inhabitants —

(i) By enumeration ...

(ii) By ijcira

(d) Nomads —

(i) By enumeration

(ii) By ijdra

Miscellaneous, including water mills, etc.

1 2,1 22

NASIRAbAD TAHSIL. 189

The rates of cash assessment on miscellaneous crops- per
acre are Rs. 8-5-4 for spring crops cut for fodder, Rs. 8 and
Rs. 5 for melons, Rs. 12 for onions and Rs. 5 for lucerne,
vegetables and autumn crops cut for fodder.

Nasirabad formed part of the District of Kachhi, which was
granted in 1740 by Nadir Shah to the Brahuis in compensa-
tion for the death of Mir Abdulla, the Ahmadzai Khan of
Kalat, who was killed by the Kalhoras in the battle of
Jandrihar near Sanni. From that time and until the construc-
tion of the Sind canals, the revenue was levied by the division
of produce (batai), the rates of which varied from one-sixth
to one-fourth. In addition to batai, the State levied the
cesses known as t\\Q jholi and la%mmma^ varying from 2 to 3
kcisas of grain per kharwd}\

The State also levied transit duties on merchandise, etc., at
the rate of annas 4, 2 and i per camel, bullock and donkey
load, respectively.

When the question of the extension of the canals into the
Kaidt territory was first mooted, it was agreed between
General John Jacob, on behalf of the British Government, and
Mir Naslr Khan 11 , Khan of Kalat, that the revenue derived
from the lands irrigated by the Sind canals should be equally
divided between His Highness and the British Government.
This agreement came into force in 1843, and was subsequently
reaffirmed by Sir Robert Sandeman and Mir Khudadad Khan
in 1877. It appears to have been the custom in earlier days
to lease a given quantity of land for a term of seven years on
the condition that the lessee should pay revenue on one-
third of the whole at a uniform rate of Rs. 2 per acre. The
system was abandoned in 1885, and the land actually
brought under cultivation was measured at each harvest and
revenue was taken at the rate of Rs. 2 per acre, half of which
was paid to the Khdn of Kalat as land revenue, and the other
half credited to the Bombay Government as the water rate.
After the construction of the Frontier Rajbha, Uch and
Manjdthi branches of the Desert Canal, the water rate on
the lands irrigated by the two former branches was raised in
1900* I to Rs. 1-8-0 per acre, and in 1902-3 the higher rate was
imposed on the lands watered by the Uch and Manjdthi
branches. A small cess at the rate of 6 pies per acre has
been levied since 1888 to meet the moiety of the cost of pay

Land

Revenue.

N fislrdbad

tahsil.

Early

revenue

history.

Modern

revenue

history.

Land

Revenue®

Sale of
revenue
grain.

,go CHAP. Ill— ADMINISTRATIVE.

of the Tahsilddr and the additional establishment, the other
half beino- paid by the Bombay Government. Since August
1004 the cultivation of rice, which requires more water than
other crops, has been restricted, the special rates being Rs. 3
per acre on authorised cultivation and Rs. 6 per^ acre on
unauthorised cultivation. The question of revising the
assessment on lands irrigated by the canals is under con-
sideration (1905).*

As is the case in other parts of the Agency, the dry crop
lands are assessed at one-sixth of the produce. The land reve-
nue in 1904-5 amounted to Rs. 1,23,4.51, of which Rs. 1,22,822
were realized by cash rates from irrigated lands, and Rs. 629
by batai or tashkhu from the dry crop area. The water rate
during this year amounted to Rs. 1,38,780, which was credited
to the Bombay Irrigation Department.

In tahsils, where the revenue is levied in kind, the Govern-
ment share of the grain is sold by public auction, the
final bids being subject to the sanction of the Revenue Com-
missioner. The sales take place at the time of the batai,
the usual condition for purchasers other than samhtddrs being
that the delivery must be taken over at the threshing floors or
at certain centres fixed with the approval of the Revenue
Commissioner, to which the saminddrs are required to carry
the grain free of charge.

* The rates temporarily sanctioned for the Desert Canal are ;

Rs. a. p.

Kharif i

Rabi

Dubari

-I

Rice (authorised) ...

„ (unauthorised)
Other crops —

Flow
Lift
Bori
Flow
Lift

Watered
Unwatered

For the Begdri Canal rates are-

Rice ••• •••

Other crops

Dubari

8
o
2 12
I o
o 8

As for Desert.
Rs. 2 per acre.
As for Desert.

THE BATAl SYSTEM.

191

The rough-and-ready methods adopted for the collection
of the revenue in kind are indicated by the following account
by Captain G. Gaisford of the proceedings in Diiki, which
may be taken as typical of all parts of the Agency On his
arrival in the district, in May 1883, he found the rabt harvest
in progress. The tahsilddr was engaged in realizing one-
sixth of the grain as the Government share. He had guards
(kardwas) posted at the villages to see that no grain was
surreptitiously remov^ed from the threshing floor before the
batai or division was made. The men employed consisted
of one or two servants of the Tahsilddr and some local men
and Punjabis. Captain Gaisford soon saw that the system
was bad and that the kardwas were not to be depended upon.
As they were merely employed temporarily and had nothing
to look forward to, their one object was to make as much and
to do as little as possible. As a rule, the viliat»ers made
them comfortable, killing a sheep for them occasionally and
providing them with the best of everything. In consequence
Captain Gaisford advocated the employment of native cavalry
sowars, and the following system was adopted: The villages
were divided into groups, and each group was put in charge
of a duffaddr, who was responsible for it. Each village had
two sowars told off to it ; one of these had to remain at
home, while the other patrolled round the crops and threshing
floors. The sowars were sent out before the grain \va.s ripe,
and then their chief duty was to see that the cattle were not
allowed to trespass in the standing crop. As the wheat and
barley was cut, it was collected and taken to the threshing
floors, which were located as centrally as possible* Gleaners
were permitted on ground from which the sheaves had not
been removed. Energetic women were watched, and it was
found that none could collect and beat out more than 5
seers of corn daily. This was, therefore, the maximum
amount that any woman or boy was allowed to take into
the village ; and for this the sowar at the door was
responsible, , '

When the grain had been cut, collected, trodden out,
winnowed and cleaned, each man made his portion into a
large heap. Under the supervision of the duffadar these
heaps were divided into six equal lots. One was taken for
Government and then put into bags, loaded up and taken to

Land

Revenue.

The batai
system.

igz

CHAP. m^ADMlNISTRATIVE,

Land

Revenue.

Recapitula-

tion.

Settlement
and their
periods.
Shdhrig
settlement.

the granaries by the mminddrs. The wheat was measured by
the country measure, or path, as it was put into the bags, and
at the granary it was weighed before being stored. The
wheat was sent off usuall) under charge of a levy sowar, who
was given a chdldn by the duflfadar, who took the batai.
Each sowar was given a thappa or stamp, and as soon as the
wheat had been trodden out or was in a more advanced stage,
it was the sowar’s duty to afBx a mud seal on every heap at
nightfall. At daybreak each seal was again inspected, and,
if found intact, the saniinddr was permitted to continue his
work. If broken, the heap was investigated. Sometimes
dogs and jackals were the cause, sometimes the grain had
been stolen. Each case was investigated by the duflfaddr
and a report sent to the tahsllddr. If the tahsllddr and his
subordinates were fairly active and actually on the move, the
system was found to work fairly well, and the mminddrs
were not dissatisfied.

This system is, with slight modifications, still followed
where revenue is taken by batai. Troops are, how'ever, no
longer employed, their place being taken by the sub-divisional
and^’tahsil officials, assisted by local levies and occasionally by
paid mushrifs or hardtaas.

In 1904.5 the land revenue of the district, including grazing
tax, amounted to Rs. 2,37,957, to which Sibi contributed
Rs. 42,808, Kohlu Rs. 12,122, Shdbrig Rs. 27,332 and
Nasirdbdd Rs. 1,55,695. The total revenue for the same
year from all sources amounted to Rs. 2,98,623.

In 1899 proposals were submitted by Mr. E. G. Colvin, then
Revenue Commissioner, to extend the settlement operations
to the Shdhrig tahsil. The principles laid down for the
settlement were that it should be summary, but still such as
to be much in advance of the arrangements already in force,
and to supply an authoritative record of rights ; that the
assessment was to be lijiht, and that little increase of revenue
was to be expected ; that unirrigated land of any consider-
able value should be excluded from the fixed assessment;
that the value of one-sixth of the gross produce might be
expected as the basis of the assessment ; that it would be
inexpedient to impose any considerable enhancement upon
the revenue collections of the last few years ; that the
Government share of the produce from division of crops

SIBI SETTLEMENT.

193

should be valued at such average prices as might be fairly
expected to be maintained for the next ten years ; and, finally,
that the result should be used as a maximum standard for
purposes of check rather than as one to be necessarily worked
up to. The survey was to be field to field.

The settlement operations were begun in 1899 complet-
ed in 1900. In the Shahrig, Harnai, Babihdn and Ghurmi
circles, where the division of fields was minute, the survey
was made on a scale of 32 inches to the mile, and in the
Kach-Kowds circle on that of 16 inches 10 the mile. The
assessment worked out to Rs. 20,745, excluding the pri-
vileged tenures in the irrigated areas, and the period of
settlement was fixed at ten years from ist of April 1901, on
the understanding that the cultivation from all new sources
of irrigation in estates subject to assessment would not be
liable to additional revenue during the period of the settle-
ment. The assessment was confined to irrigated areas,
including small dry-crop tracts up to 20 acres forming parts
of the irrigated mahdls, while in other unirrigated tracts the
revenue was and is still (1905) levied by batai at the rate of
one-sixth of the produce. The final sanction of the Govern-
ment of India to the settlement was accorded in July 1901,
and it was laid down that ‘'the effect of the new rates
(which are high) should, however, be carefully watched
during the term of the settlement.”

The first proposal to carry out settlement operations in
the Sibi tahsil was made by Mr. (now Sir) Hugh Barnes in
February 1899, when he reported that the people were ready
for a cash assessment in lieu of the existing collection of
revenue by batai, and pointed out that it was necessary to
ascertain and define, while there was yet time, the rights of
Government in the many acres of waste lands still existing in
the Sibi tahsil. The proposal to undertake settlement oper-
ations was approved by the Government of India in March
1899. In October of the same year, it was decided that it
would be desirable to postpone the revenue survey, as there
had been two bad years which rendered it unlikely that the
people would be willing to accept a reasonable cash assess-
ment.".

The traverse survey of the tahsil was completed during the
winter of 1899'-! 900 and the revenue survey in May iqoi.

Revenue^,

Sibi settle-
ment.

Land

Revenue.

Review of
existing
assessments
1:905).

194 CHAP, ni-^ADMINISTRATIVK

In the meantime Mr. Coivin, the Revenue Commissioner, had
officially represented his opinion as follows

I do not at present recommend attempting to impose a
settlement for a period of years. The people are strongly
opposed to this, and a settlement by consent would involve a
considerable loss of revenue, while a settlement on any other
terms would probably be politically unwise in this part of the
country. Moreover there are large tracts of khushkdba or dry
crop cultivation, which do not lend themselves to cash assess-
ment.” These views were supported by the Agent to the
Governor-General, and approved of by the Government of
India in March 1901.

The settlement operations in Sibi have, therefore, been
confined to the preparation of revenue survey and record of
rights.

The survey was made on a scale of 16 inches to the mile.
The Sdngdn, Talli and Mai circles, as well as the cultivated
saildba lands in the Sibi, Kurk and Khajak circles, were
subjected to a field to field survey, while a thdkbast survey
was carried out in the irrigated lands belonging to the
villages of the last three circles. The Badra, Quat-Mandai
and Tokhi valleys, Government forests and Sibi Municipal
lands were not included in -the settlement survey, the last
mentioned having already been surveyed in 1899.

As uniformity does not exist, it will be useful to summarise
briefly, in the form of a statement, the various systems of
revenue prevailing in different parts of the District.

Area.

Description*

Revenue system.

Period of settle-
ment, if any.

Sbi.hng...|

: Irrigated
land.

Cash assessment ...

10 years, from
tst April 1901.

Unirriga-

ted.

Tracts of 20 acres and un- ,
der, lying within the lim-
its of the irrigated
mdhah are not assessed.
Ail other tracts pay
revenue at one-sixth of
the produce.

■J

Nasir/i-

bdd.

Statistics of
land reve«
n«e*

In those parts of the District in which revenue is still levied
in kind, the ag’gfegate amount collected fluctuates with the
character of the agricultural seasons and the prevailing
prices. Table XVIII, VoL B, shows the revenue in kind of
Sibi, Shdhrig and Kohiu tahsils for each of the eight years
from 1897-8 to 1904-5 and the average price at which each
article was sold. The principal items are wheat and yWzn
The largest amount of wheat collected was 29,749 maunds in
1897-8 ani the smaPest 16*005 maunds in 1902-3. The

STATISTICS OF LAND REVENUE.

description.! Revenue system.

Land

Period of settle- Revenue.
ment, if any.

frrigfaied
and unirri-
I gated
I lands.

Irrigated
and unirri-
gated.

nie Sibi, Kurk, Khajak, Sibi Municipal
Talli and Mai circles pay mdhaU Cash
revenue in kind at two- assessn ent of
ninths of the total pro- Rs, 741-11-0

duce ; the Sdngdn circle for 10 years

pays one-fourth of the from ist April
produce, half of which 1900.
is made over to the
Bdruzai jdg{rddr$ ; Ld-
khi ( in Silngdn ) pays
one-sixth ; and Quat-
Mandai, one-twelfth of
the produce, an equal
share being levied by the
Marri chief.

On rnirds lands, and on
such lauds as were ac-
quired by the Marris
previous to 1892, reve-
nue is taken at one-
twelfth, an equal share
being paid by the culti-
vator to the Marri chief.

On all other lands the
rate is one-sixth.

Cash assessment at the
rate of Re. i per acre
under cultivation. The
water rate is Re. i per
cultivated acre, except
on the Frontier Rajbha,

Uch and Manjiilhi bran-
ches of the Desert canal
where it is Rs. i-8. A
cess of 6 pies is also
levied on each acre
under cultivation.

i Unirriga- | Revenue in kind at one-f
! ted, sixth of the produce. [

Irrigated .

ig6

CHA P, III-- A DMINISTRA TI VE.

Land

Ke VENUE.

l.and tenu*
'ew, jdjf^rs.

Bariizai

fdg/rs.

Kurk jiigtr*

largest amount oiju&r was 26,027 maunds in 1902-3 and the
lowest 6,876 maunds in 1904-5. Table XIX, besides

embodying the figures obtained from table XVIII, also shows
the land revenue realised in cash, such as fixed assessments,
temporary contracts, tax on water mills and grazing tax
during the period 1897-8 to 1904-5. The annual average
receipt of the above three tahsils for the quinquennial period
ending with the year 1901-2 was Rs. 1,38,204, the highest
amount, Rs. 99,002, being contributed by the Sibi tahsil and
the lowest Rs, 8,908 by the Kohlu tahsil.

The land tenures of the District are of a simple nature.

' % ''

Government is the sole collector of revenue except in Kurk,
Sdngdn and Quat-Mandai in the Sibi tahsil and on the lands
acquired by the Marris in the Kohlu valley prior to the
Marunj Settlement of 1892. The tenures in Quat-Mandai
and Kohlu have already been mentioned.

The assignments which comprise the jdgirs of Kurk and
Sangdn originated in the influential position held by the
Bardzai sardarsin the Sibi District during the Afghdn occupa-
tion of the country, The/a^/r of Kurk, the estimated value
of which is Rs. 10,000 a year, is held under the authority of a
sa7iadf dated the 8th Moharrdm 1201 A.H., bearing the seal of
Timdr Shdh, and was confirmed by the Government of India in
January 1899 to the heirs of the Bdrdzai Sarddrs of Sibi in
perpetuity, subject to the conditions of loyalty and good
behaviour. Thejdgir consists of 9 pdas of water, of which the
Kurks and Nodhdnis own 8 and i respectively and which are
further sub-divided into 22 and 3 dahdnas. These tribes pay
revenue to the Bdrdzais at the rate of one-fourth of the
produce of wheat, cotton, and bhilsa and one-fifth ofjudr and
barley. Rebates, which are locally known as indm, are
granted to the Kurks at the rate of one-sixth of the judr and
barley and 2X kharwdrs of wheat, in addition to one-tenth of
all grain produced on 5 out of the 22 dahdnas^ and to the
Nodhdiiis at the rate of 9 kharwdrs of wheat and one-sixth of
the produce of the kharif hwiSfQsi, These rebates are granted
on the condition that the tribes in question maintain the
water channels and the embankments on the Ndri river. In

sAngJn jAgIr.

Land

Revenue*

Msas per hkarwdr,
,, per dakdna.

(3)

(4)

addition to the revenue,, the Bardzais also collect the tollow-
ing cesses

(1) Ndibi. <*. *. 3

(2) Kdrdiri ... 5

(3) Footman ... 2-J- ,, ,,

(4) Kliidmatgir ' ... . i ,, ,,

(5) Fakir (in charge of the tomb

of Dada Khfin)... ' ... i ,, ,,

At the present time (1905) the jdgir is divided into six.
shares as under

(i) Wall Muhammad, son of Slier Zamin Khin,

Sarddr Muhammad Khan, son of Sarddr
Shakar Khdn and Adam Khan, son of
Rahim Khdn, in equal shares \yi shares.

Akbar Khdn, Sarbuland Khdn and Ismdil
Khdn, sons of Misri Kliin, in equal

shares ... ... ' m

Bakhtiydr Khdn, son of Isa Khdn 1% ,,

Mus 4 Khin and Fateh Khdn, sons of Hazdr

Khan, in equal shares i share.

The Sdngan Jdgir is held on the authority of sanads or Sdngin
warrants issued by Ahmad Shdh, Durrani (about 1176 H.) in
favour of the Bdrdzais of Sangan, and is valued at about
Rs. 4,462 per annum. The revenue is levied by batai at the
rate of one-fourth, one-half of which, or one-eighth of the
total produce, is assigned to the Bdriizais. ThQ Jdgir is
divided into the following three main shares : —

(1) Tdj Muhammad Khdn, son of Shdrdil Khdn,

Nur Muhammad Khdn and Sahib Khdn,

sons of Zulfiqdr Khin, in equal sharei ... i share.

(2) Shdhbiz Kh^n and Umar Khin, the minor

sons of Bahrini Khin, in equatehares ... Ath ,,

Murtaza Kh^n and Surda Kh 4 n, sons of

Arsala Kh 4 n, in equal shares i%th ,,

Ydr Muhammad Khan, the minor son of

Salho Khdn ... * i^th ,,

Mir Alam Kh^n, Rahdil Khan and Mehrdil
Khdn, sons of Haz^r Kh^n, in equal
shares - ... ... ... ... ith ,, ■

(3) Mehrdb Khdn and Samandar Khdn, sons of

Ghafur Khin, in equal shares ... i ,,

The jdgir has been enjoyed by the Bdrdzais of Sdngdn
since the occupation of Sibi by the British, but the question

198

CHAP. I 1 L--^ADMIN 1 STRATIVE,

Land

Revenue.

Quat-Man-
dai valley.

The origin
and the
character of
the tenants.

of its future conditions and of the period of its continuance
are under consideration (1905).

The Quat-Mandai valley was taken over in 1880 after the
Kuchdli raid, and the revenue is nov/ (1905) assessed at the
rate of T^th of the total produce, the Marri chief taking an
equal share. The circumstances which led to the occupation
of the valley are detailed in Chapter IV, Miniature Gazetteer
0 f Sibi*

Most of the cultivators are peasant proprietors, the only
other classes represented in the District are tenants^ the
majority of whom are only temporary. In earlier times the
greater part of the land remained uncultivated and was gradu-
ally occupied by the different tribes, first for grazing and then
for cultivation, being divided among the sections either in
proportion to the number of families or among individual
males. In other cases land was obtained by conquest and
divided on the same system. Land was also acquired as
compensation for the loss of men killed in the course of blood
feuds ; and hamsdyasy who had sought protection with
tribes, were sometimes admitted into the tribe and given a
share in the tribal lands. Thus the Khajaks, Nodhdnis and
Gohrdmzais. who had first settled in the Sibi tahsil as
ha^nsdyas^ were given their lands by the Bdrfizai chiefs of Sibi.
Cases of acquisition by purchase are also met with, and the
Wandchis are said to have purchased the greater portion of
the lands at Bdbihdn from the Makhidnis, the price being a
colt or behd 7 i which, according to local tradition, accounts for
the name of Bdbihdn. The lands purchased by the Marris
from the Zarkfins in Kohiu, before the occupation of that
valley by the British Government, are known as mrkharid.
Kaclihi, which includes Nasirdbdd, was given to the Brdhuis
as compensation for the death of Mir Abdulla Khdn of Kaldt,
who was killed by the Kalhoras of Sind. Among the Sdfis
and Kurks of Sibi and the Zarkdns of Kohiu, land and water
has also been acquired in lieu of bride price and

blood momy {khtin baha).

In these various ways a body of peasant proprietors has
arisen, owning their own lands and cultivating their own

TM-NAIVTS AND TENANCIES. m

fields, the irrigated land being for the most part owned by
individuals, though, ’in some cases in the Sibi tabsil, periodi-
cal division takes place.

In the Shcihrig, Kohlu and Nasirdbdd tahsils,. both irrigated
and unirrigated lands are permanently divided (piikhia taqsmi),
III Sibi the khiishkdha BXidi saildba\2J\diS are divided ; but the
irrigated lands, with the exception of those in the Sdngdn
circle and in the Sibi municipal limits, are held jointly and
are undivided. For purpose of cultivation these lands are
divided into blocks, which are termed awdras and which bear
distinctive names and are cultivated in turn. Thus, it a
mama consists of four a%mifas^ one awdm only is cultivated in
the year and the others are allowed to lie fallow. Generally
speaking, the boundaries of these awdrns are not permanently
defined, but are liable to change according to the require-
ments of the cultivators. At the time of sowing the
zafninddts make a temporary (khdifi) partition of the awdras
into dahdnaSj and the land wuthin each dahana is held in
common and jointly cultivated. If a dahdtui has several
proprietors, the produce is divided among them in accordance
with their shares of water.

In the Shdhrig tahsil the land is cultivated mostly by the
owners themselves, but tenants (bazgars) are also sometimes
employed. No occupancy rights are recognised, except in
the dry crop areas of Warikha, where a tenant cannot be
evicted so long as he maintains the embankments, does
not intentionally allow the land to lie waste and pays the
landlord’s rent. In the Sibi tahsil there are three kinds of
tenants, i.e., occupancy tenants, laihband tenants and
tenants-at-will. The occupancy tenants are found in the
villages of Sdfi, Pirak, Bostdn, Marghazdni, Mizri, Kurk, and
Sdfi Abdulwahdb of the Sibi and Kurk circles, and number 35
in all (1905). Their rights, which are hereditary
were conferred by Nawdb Bakhtiydr Khdn, Bdrdzai, in re-
cognition of their services in the field. They cannot be ejected
and their rents are fixed at various rates in the different
villages. The tenants are met with in dry crop areas

irrigated by flood water, and are considered to hold the same

Land

Revenue. ;

Custom of
periodical
distribution

Tenants and
tenancies.

2 00

CBAF, IIL-ADMINISTRATIVE.

status as occupancy tenants, but are subject to certain condi-
tions. Tenancy right is acquired when, with the permission of
the landlord, the tenant brings waste land under cultivation by
constructing or embankments to hold up the flood water,
and he retains an alienable right so long as he keeps the
embankments in good order, cultivates the land and pays the
landlord’s rent. If he fails to fulfil the conditions, he can be
ejected on compensation being paid for the labour expended
on construction, such compensation being generally deter-
inined by arbitration. The rents paid by these tenants vary
from oneTwelfth to one-twenty-fourth of the produce, and
are further dealt with in the section on Rents. The
tenants-at-will are locally known as rdhaks or basgars. They
have no vested rights in the land they cultivate, and are
usually appointed for three harvests, i.e., ChetiH^ Sdwnri and
Ahdri, and they cannot leave their tenancy or be ejected until
the three harvests are over.

In Kohiu and Nasirdbdd the land is cultivated by the pro-
prietors themselves or by tenants-at-will.

The information available with regard to the size of hold-
ings is incomplete, no distinction having been made in the
iterature on the subject between the number of holdings in
irrigated and in dry crop areas. The following remarks,
therefore, must be received with caution ;~

In Shdhrig the total number of holdings recorded at the
settlement was 6,934, and the area of irrigated land, including
gardens, was 9,229 acres, which would give about i acres
as the size of a holding. Besides this, there were 9,225 acres
of cultivable land which would add about another i acres to
a holding. In this tahsil the area of culturable ground is
limited, and the greater portion is brought under cultivation
every year and sometimes bears two crops in the same year.
In Sibi the total number of holdings was 2,808, and the
area of abi^ saildba and khtishkdba lands 125,231 acres, which
allows about 44I acres as the area of a holding. The
amount of the annual area from which good crops may be
raised in this tahsfl with certainty by each cultivator cannot
be ascertained, as no distinction has been made between

IIEADM£N,

'201

the number of holdings in the irrigated and dry crop
areas.

In the Nasirdbdd tahsil the record of rights has not yet'
been prepared (1905), and the total area belonging to each
Bafninddr is not known,

1 he headman, malik or wadera as he is locally called, has
always been a prominent figure in the village and tribal
organization, and his duties have consisted in arbitrating
betw^een disputants, in keeping order and peace, and in
collecting the State demand where revenue wasinifosed. In
the tribal areas, where little interference has taken place with
the ancient system of tribal Government, he still plays a part
of no little importance. Elsewhere the powers of the head-
men have been somewhat curtailed since the introduction of
the British administration and of the settlement, and rules
have been framed for their appointment and removal. They
are generally men who are proprietors of large areas in a
ma/idli and who command respect from their tribesmen.
Their duties are primarily to assist in the collection of the
Government revenue, to keep order and to inform the tahsil
officials of the occurrence of any serious crime and of other
important matters. A certain number are employed in the
levy service.

The maliks in the Shahrig and Kohlu tahsils are paid
lambarddrt allowance [haqd-malikdna) on the gross land
revenue, including grazing tax and tax on mills, at a uniform
rate of 5 per cent. In the Nasirdbad tahsil no payment is
made. In the Sdngan circle of Sibi tahsil haqd-malikdna is
also paid at the rate of 5 per cent. In the irrigated villages
in the other circles of Sibi, the allowance under the Afghdn
rule was 2^ to kharwdr of grain for every pdo of
water. In 1898 this rate was changed to 5 per cent,
but the amount is divided among all the Baminddrs according
to their shares in the water, and each headman receives a
lungi worth Rs, 20 or Rs. 25 in addition to his own share.

In Shahrig, the minimum incidence on the irrigable area is
Rs. 1-15-5 per acre in the Bdbihdn circle, and the maximum
Rs. 3-5-4 in the Ghurmt circle, the average of the five circles

Land

Revencb.

Headman,
Bialik or
Wad/ra*

Remunera-
tion of
headmen.

Incidence.

20.2

CHAP. IlL-ADMINISTRATIVE.

of the tahsii being Rs. 2-4-10. The maximum incidence per
acre on the area irrigated annually is Rs. 2-14-1 ij the average
being Rs. 2-8-11. The following table shows the incidence
of each circle in the tahsil : —

Circle.

Incidence on
irrigable
area.

Incidence on
area annually
irrigated.

, i

Rs.

P-

Rs. a. p.

Shfihrig

...

7 I

Harnai ...

«•»

7 3

Bibibdn

...

4 10

Ghurmi ...

...

' 3

2 6

Kach-Kowas

...

14 11

As already stated, the revenue in the Sibi tahsii is still
realized in kind, but the calculations made in the course of the
revenue survey with regard to the average annual revenue
recovered from the aU and the saildba and khushkdba cultiva-
tions gave the following results : — •

Circle,

Annual receipt
per cultivated
(irrigated) acre.

Annual receipt
per cultivated
{saildha and
hhushkdbd)
acre.

SAngin

Rs. a. p.

538

Rs. a. p.

I I 9

Sibi

3 6 6

021

Kurk ... ...

1 1121

096

Khajak

300

023

Talli

0118

Mai ... ... ... ...

i 0.7 9

The incidence on irrigated and khushkdba lands in the
S^ngdn circle is higher than in other circles, as the revenue
is taken at one-fourth, and also because the rainfall is

SYSTEM OF REMISSIONS,

203

somewhat greater than in the rest of the tahsil. The low Land
incidence on irrigated lands in the Kurk circle is due to the Rfwenue*
fact that the Bari'izais possess a large mudfi in this village
amounting to 13,970 acres. The satldba lands of Talli, Kurk
and Mai are all irrigated by floods from the Talli torrent and
possess the right of taking water [sarewarkh) in the order
named ; hence the low figures shown for Mai, which in
unfavourable seasons receives little or no flood water.

In Shahrig the internal distribution of the assessment at Distribution,
the time of the settlement was made in accordance with the
wishes of the proprietors either by land or by water only.

The distribution by land was made in two ways, namely, by
the proportionate rate of incidence [parta fiishat)^ or by a
summary incidence on the total irrigable area {parta sarsari).

The distribution by the proportionate rate was determined on
the basis of a standard fixed with reference to the qualities
of the land, while the method ol distribution by summary
incidence was only resorted to in those circles which possess-
ed one quality of land throughout. The distribution by
water followed the recognised shares in the water. The
following table shows the nature of the assessment made in
the various circles : —

Mauzas.

By proportionate rate of incidence on land ... 63

By summary incidence on the entire irrigable

area of the village 14

By water . ... 21

In the Shdhrig tahsil the fixed cash assessment is payable Date of
on the ist of February in one instalment, while in Nasirdbdd
the assessments on the rabi and kharij crops on canal irri-
gated lands are payable in two equal instalments, those for rabi
falling due on the 15th of June and 15th of July, and those
for kharif on the 15th of February and 15th of March
respectively. ■ ■

In areas in which revenue is levied in kind, the results of System of
indifferent seasons or calamities adjust themselves automati-
caily, and the necessity for suspension or remission of revenue sions.
seldom arises. Where the revenue is paid in cash, the
Political Agent may direct that the whole or part of the land
revenue falling due in an estate be suspended in cases of
severe and continued calamity. All orders thus issued must

204

CHAP, IIL-^ADMINISTRATIVE.

Lam

Revenue

Exemption
from reve-
nae of im-
.■provementS'

be at once reported for the sanction of the Revenue Commis-
sioner, who may cancel or modify them. Similarly proposals
for the remission of land revenue have to be reported to the
Revenue Commissioner, who may sanction remissions up to a
maximum of Rs 250. Cases involving larger sums require
the sanction of the Local Government. Remissions for
grazing tax and of the tax on water mills are sometimes
granted when there is unusual mortality, due to a drought and
scarcity of fodder, or when a mill has» owing to no fault on
the part of the proprietor, not been in working order. Re-
missions of revenue, water rate and cess on canal irrigated
lands in the Nasirabdd tahsil are governed by rules contained
in Circular No. 54 of 1883 of the Commissioner in Sind as
revised on the 12th of March 1892. Under these rules applica-
tions for remissions have to reach the tahsildar by certain
fixed dates. This officer conducts his enquiries in the pre-
sence of the applicants, and the Extra Assistant Commissioner
personally checks a certain percentage of the entries. The
remissions are sanctioned by the Revenue Commissioner on
the recommendation of the Political Agent, and all such
recommendations should reach him in the case of kharif
claims on or before the ist of April and in the case of rabi
claims before the 15th of June. Ordinarily remissions are not
granted when the value of the gross produce, including karbt,
straw, etc., exceeds or equals double the amount of the
assessment. When it is less than this, Government takes
one-third of the value of the actual produce, and the remain-
der of the assessment, after deducting the sum, is remittted
to the mmhidd 7 *s,

in connection with the settlement of the Shahrig tahsil, the
Government of India ruled that cultivation from ail new
sources of irrigation in estates subject to the fixed assessment
should not be liable to any additional revenue during the

Kharif,

* {a) Injury by floods or deficient water supply

to all crops except rice ... ... ... 30th September.

[h') Injury from other causes to all crops ex-
cept rice ... ... ... ... 15th November,

(r) Injury of any kind to rice crops 31st October.

' ' ■■ ■ Rahi. • ■ ■ ' ■

injury to all kinds ... 15th March.

mANSFER OF LAND.

205

terni of the settlement. In areas which are not subject to a Land
fixed cash assessment, the rules are (r/) that when waste Rkvenhe.

land is reclaimed with the aid of a loan and is brought

under cultivation, no revenue may be assessed on it until the
expiration of three years, reckoning from the beginning of
the harvest first reaped after the reclamation was effected.

If no MMvi loan was obtained, the period of exemption may
be extended to four years; {b) when khushkdba land has
been improved by irrigation with the aid of a takdm loan, the
period of exemption is four years ; in the case of waste land
which has been improved by irrigation or of an improvement
either of kkushkdba or waste, which has been made without
the aid of a loan, the period ot exemption may be extended
to five years ; (6;) new water mills, constructed with or
without the aid of Government loans are, on sufficient
reasons being shown, exempt from taxation for two or three
years as the case may be. In special cases these periods may
be further extended.

No final decision has yet been arrived at in regard to waste

waste lands. Under Afghdn rule the right to all waste lands,

lands was vested in the State. In the draft of the proposed
Land Revenue Regulation for Baluchistdn which is still
(1905) under consideration, a provision has been included
giving Government the presumptive right to all lands com-
prised in hills, forests, and to unclaimed or unoccupied land.

Under the provisions of the Baluchistdn Civil Justice Law Restrictions
and Regulation, agricultural land cannot be sold in execution
of a decree without the sanction of the local Government, jand to non-

and it is usually made a condition of the sale .that the land ftgricul-

shall not be sold to noii-agriculturists. In the draft Land
Revenue Regulation, a provision has been made that no
agricultural right in land shall be alienated by transfer, sale,
gift, mortgage or other private contract to any person, (1)
who is not entered in a record of rights as a member of the
proprietary body of an estate, or {2) if the transferee is resi-
dent in a part of Baluchistdn where no such record of rights
has been prepared unless the transferee is a Pathdn or Baloch
land owner, and unless he is approved b}’' the headmen of
the village where the land is situated. This draft has not
yet (1905) become law, but in the meantime, in accordance
with executive orders passed from time to time, land cannot

206

CHAP, in.— ADMINISTRATIVE.

Land be sold or mortgaged with possession to aliens without the
BVENUE. permission of the District Officer.

Government In the course of the settlement of Shdhrig, 83 pieces of

land with a total area of 1,425 acres, of which 83 acres were

irrigable, were found to belong to Government. The ma-
jority of these lands were obtained by purchase from time to
time by various Government departments. Those belonging
to the Shdhrig bazar and Zidrat Improvement Funds^pay
no revenue, but all other lands are liable to assessment
whenever cultivated. Areas used as gardens are exempt
from revenue so long as they are used as such.

In the Sibi tahsil, the Government lands are (a) those

within the limits of the Sibi
Uultivated ... 1,960 acres. r. . .

Culturable ... 51,634 „ Municipality, consisting of

Unculturable ... » 1 ,075 acres of culturable land,

55,426 which pay an annual revenue

of Rs. 746-11-9 to the Civil

Department ; and 55,42 acres of waste land in the Mai and
Talli circles (details as per margin), which were declared the
property of Government after the Settlement Survey of the

tahsil. Of these lands an area equal to 50 per cent, of the

cultivated area in each of these circles was made over to the
mmindars, leaving a balance of 33,993 acres in the Mai,
and 18,223 acres in the Talli circle in the possession of the
Government. The land given to the zaminddrs is liable to
resumption unless brought under cultivation within five
years with effect from the ist of January, 1903.

Water number of water mills in each tahsil is shown in the

mills. following statement : —

Shdhrig;
Sibi ...

Tahsil.

Revenue-

free.

Revenue-

paying.

Total

In Shdhrig I water mill is revenue-free, 33 pay a fixed
asessmenttorthetermof the Settlement, and the remain-

GRAZING TAX,

,207

Lano

Revenue®

«^r tirni.

der are assessed annually, the basis of assessment being
one-sixth of the receipts. The average annual assessment
on each mill amounted in 1903-4 to Rs. 11-15-3. In Sibi,

2 water mills are revenue-free : i belongs to the Sibi Muni-
cipality and pays rent at the rate of Rs. 100 per annum,
while the remaining 2 are assessed annually. The revenue
from these 2 mills during 1903-4 amounted to Rs. 6.

Grazing tax was known in Afghanistan as sar rama^ and Grazing tax
the rates levied by the Afghans in Pishin and Shorardd
were Re. i for a camel ; 8 annas for a cow ; 6 annas for a
donkey ; and i anna for a sheep or goat. This system of
taxation does not appear to have been extended to more
remote districts, and the revenue accounts of Sibi prior to
the year 1846, when the District was farmed out on contract
to the Bfirdzai chief, do not contain any entry on account of
grazing tax. In 1880, a sum of Rs. 486 was recovered on
this account from the Kach Kowds valley, but with this
exception no tirni was levied in either the Sibi or Shdhrig
tahsils until June 1890, when the tax was imposed through-
out the Agency. The revised schedule was —

As. As.

Male camel 8 Female camel ... ... i

Buffaloes ... ... 8 Cattle 6

Donkeys 4 Sheep and goat ... i

Animals which are exempt include horses, bona hde plough
bullocks and milch-cows kept for private use by villagers.

The above rates prevail throughout the District (1905),
except in Kohiu where the Harris are taxed at half rates.

The question of levying the tax in the Nasirdbad tahsil is
under consideration. Collections are carried out once a
year by the tahsll establishments with the aid of the head-
men, either by actual enumeration of the cattle or by tem-
porary contracts {ijard). Headmen who assist are paid 5
per cent, on the collections as their remuneration. The
income derived from the grazing tax collected throughout
the District during 1904-5 was as follows : —

Rs.

From settled inhabitants ... ... 10,072

From, nomads ... .... .. v../ , 2,371 ■

rotai

12,443

208

CHAP. IIL— ADMINISTRATIVE.

Land

Revenue.

Revenue-
free gfrants
in Sh^hrjg.

Saiad mud /if
in Mian
Kach, Shah-
rig tahsil.

Revenue- •
free grants
in Sibi,.

Grazing tax is credited into the District accounts under
Land Revenue, and the average coHections from Sibi, Sh4h«
rig and Kohlu tahsils for the quinquennial period ending
with the 31st of March, 1902, show that the sum obtained
from it amounted to about 9 per cent, of the total land
revenue receipts of these tahsils.

The revenue-free grants in the Shdhrig tahsii are classed
under two heads : —

(1) Grants in favour of the Salads on religious grounds.

(2) Grants in recognition of good service rendered to

the British Government.

The total annual value of these mudfiSf as confirmed by the
local Government in 1901, was Rs. 284-' 14-7, all grants being
sanctioned for the lives of the incumbents, and being subject
to the usual conditions of loyalty and good service. A new
niudfi^ valued at Rs. 10-8-9 per annum, was sanctioned in 1902,
and grants valued at Rs. 19-4-3 annum have since been
resumed in consequence of the deaths of certain incumbents.
The value of the existing mudJiSf therefore, at the present
time (1905), is Rs. 276 per annum.

The principal religious mudfi in the tahsil is that enjoyed
by Saiad Afzal Shdh, the chief of the Saiads of Midn Kach
in the Bdbihdn circle. It consists of an exemption of revenue
on 61 acres and 26 poles, and was in the first instance
granted in the early eighties jointly to all the Saiads. In
1901, after disputes lasting over several years, the co-sharers
renounced their claims in favour of Saiad Afzul Shdh.

The important mudfism the Sibi tahsil which have already
been referred to in the section on Land Tenures are those
of Kurk and Scingdn belonging to the Bdrdzais, and Bddra
held by the Langhdni section of the Marri tribe. The annua!
value of each of these gTants is as under -

Rs.

(I)

Kurk mudfi ...

10,000

(2)

Sdngdn ,, ...

4^462

(3)

Bddra ,, ...

3,000

No, j: is in perpetuity and the case of No. 2 is still (1905)
under consideration. The Badra miidfi was granted for his

^EmNUE-FREE. GEANTS,

2og

lite-time to Khan Sdhib'-' Haji Dur Muhammad Khdn,
Langliani Marri, for the good services rendered by him and
his tribesmen at the time, of the Kuchali raid. In addition
to the above there are four small mmi/iSf aggregating 103
acres with an approximate annua! value of Rs, 70. These
grants are for the li,fetime of the present incumbents.

In the Kolilu tahsil the private lands belonging to the
M'arri Nawab at Pharai and Gulu Gozu are exempt from
revenue. The grant is in perpetuity, and was sanctioned
under tlie terms of the Marunj Settlement of 1892 in consi-
deration of certain rights in the Kohlu valley ceded to the
British . Government,. The area Is 2,944 ncres and the esti-
mated' value about Rs. 727 per annum. In 1893 assign-
ments were also granted to seven Marri headmen for their
lifetime on the condition of loyalty and good service. In
connection with these assignments, the following orders
were passed in 1904 by the Agent to the Governor-
General (Colonel C. E. Yate) : — “ The 7 niidfis granted under
the terms of the Marunj Settlement are to be left
intact, and the orders now conveyed relate onl}^ to the fmidfis
granted in 1893. These //zwr/yf-s' were granted for the lifetime
of the recipients, and no promise was made For their continu-
ance to their heirs. Of the seven original grantees, two are
dead, namely, Fateh Khan and Mir Hazdr Khdn. The
muufi enjoyed by the latter lapses to Government. In the
case of the former , however, the continuance of the imidfi to
his two sons, Khuda Bakhsh and Khudaddd, was sanctioned
ill July, 1899, as a temporary arrangement pending the settle-
ment of Kohlu. Of the two sons, Khuda Bakhsh has died,
and his share, therefore, lapses to Government. The share
of Khiidaddd and the mudfis enjoyed by the remaining five
headmen, viz ; (i) M!irzihan Khan, (2) Kote Khan, (3) Sher
Dll, {4) Ddd AH, (5) Mir Hazar Khcin Ghazni are to be
restimecl on the death of each man..” The total area of
these revenue-free holdings is 1,032! acres and the annual
v.ali.ie Rs. .i.,o83. In addition to the above, small mudfis of
the annual value of Rs. 20 and Rs. 31 are enjoyed by the

, Dur , Muhammad Khdn died in January 1906 - and 'the question
ch the resumption of the muujl is under consideration. This mttaft is
liable to a nominal revenue demand of two annas, per acre. ■

Land

REVENUEt

Revenue-
free grants
in Kohlu.

210

CHAP, 1 II--ADMINISTRATIVE,

Fioaflcial
s csultf;-

Land keepers of the shrine of the Tawakli Mast Fakir, and by
Rkvicinue. Saniaod Khfin, Zarkdn, respectively.

H !!o\vanv:es

The followiiig chiefs and headmen receive annual grants of

ijrain

(ij Nawab Khair Bakhsh Khan,l ,

^ 7, r Ms Hiarimrs

kharivars^ t .

the Marri chief, lo
Adam Khan, Ghazni Marri, I
c hliarwdrs, ^

150 mds. of
judn

fico mds. of wheat
(2) J 3 ada Khan, Zarkuii of Kohlu...- and 50 mds.of

i hhilsa.

The allowances of the Marris, which were granted in April,
1892, in lieu of certain rights acquired by the Marri chief and
Mir Adam Khdn in the village of Talli, are paid from the
Talk or Sibi revenues, and have been sanctioned until fur-
ther orders. The grant to Ddda Khdn, the Zarkdn head-
man of Kohlu, was also made in 1892 in consideration of
good service rendered by him to Government.

The following cash allowances, sanctioned in June 1879,
are granted in perpetuity in the Sibi tahsil in lieu of annual
mams or gifts given by the Afghdn Government prior to
the cession of the district to the British : —

The BdiTizai chief of Kurk ... ... ... Rs, 100

Shzkar Khdn, son of Khalifa Yakub of Khajak ,, 77

■"Kazi xMuhammad Usnidn of Kurk ... ... ,, 20

Rs. 197

Total value
of the
m

On the 31st ot March, 1905, the total annual value of the
grants and assignments was Rs. 17,077, of which Rs. 10,197
were in perpetuity, and Rs. 6,880 for the lives of the holders
or for fixed terms. The total land revenue, excluding the
arrears of previous years but including the haq 4 -malikdna
payable to the headmen during 1904-5, amounted to
Rs. 2,21,774, so that the value of the revenue-free holdings
represents rather more than 7 per cent, of the land revenue.

The following table shows the financial results of the
changes which have taken place so far as the land revenue —

MECO^D OF mGMTS. 211 ,.

which includes grazing tax, cess and ' water niiIls-«-is con Financial
cerned since the British occupation : — Rehitlts,

Rcvcjiite under native
rule in ye.ar imme-
diafely preceding'
British occupation.

Revenue in first year
of administration.

Land revenue Pi
collected i n <

casii. 3

in, 1 904-5.

g aj § ^

.2 0 0 c

•r-d cl

0 5 £

S, i;

0 **- 'c c 2

C c rt -2

Slifihrig*

Year.

.A moil nt.
Rs.

Year

Amount, '
Rs. i

Rs.

1S77

I SSo- 1

11,4161

20.253

7,079

Sibi

10,000

1S78-9

9 .» 6 S 3 :i

3,208

39,600

Kohlii

......

1892-3

6, 269 ;.

‘ 3>5

1 1 1,907

Nasinib/id...

1902-3

^ 903-4

* 42.435

1,22,822

629

The record oi rights prepared in the Shahrig tahsfl of

comprises the yakf7sUi-->nidiia^ or list ot assessment ; shajrct^ rights and
or survey map; kkmra, or field index to the map
?%nmkdkmr, or list showing all documents relating to an
estate ; or genealogical table of the proprie-

tary body ;Jm^d-i-i4igsi7n-kdb^ or list showing rights in water ;
kaiamii, ot list of holdings which shows all owners and
co-sharers, and also tenants and mortgagees with posses-
sions ; fatd-i-dsHib, or list of mills ; tg7*dr--?idma'-kmdlm or
Engagement for revenue ; fard^kmdfiydi, or list of revenue-
free holdings ; and the khe%mt^ or record of the shares and
revenue responsibility of each owner or member of the pro-
prietary body. With the exception of t\\^ fard-iUndlm and
tgrdr-?Hmmd-mdlm, the record of rights of the Sibi talisii
contains all other documents prepared in c^hahrig, and in
addition the genealogical table of the jdgirddrs and the
dmttir-ukamal or village customs relating to haqddopa
(rights of proprietors), names of (plots of land in

villages cultivated by turns) shares of produce assigned
to fnullds id,nA village menials, and rules regarding irrigation
and. tenancy rights.

The village revenue staff is required to keep this record up
to date, and every pafwdri has to maintain for each of the
maMls ill his charge a harvest inspection register, a return
of crops,, .a. register ; of mutations, adyearly .. total of trans-

* This figure represents revenue for harvest only •

'I* Excluding Rs. 32,444, arrears of r903*4, recovered during 1904-5.

212

CHAP. IIL--ADMINISTRATIVE,

Financial

Results.

fers, a statement of the revenue demand and of the persons
from whom it is due, and a yearly register of area showing
how every acre in each estate has been dealt with, i.e,,
whether it has been cultivated, left fallow or newly broken

Miscellane-
ous Reve-
nue.

Salt.

The salt used in the Sibi district consists of Punjab rock-
salt and the S6gi, Zhob and Kachhi earth salt. The first
is known as Lahori salt, pays duty at the mines, and is
imported chiefly for use by the Indian population residing in
the Sibi town and in the bazars of the district. The in-
digenous population commonly use earth salt. The salt
manufactured at S^gi in the Pishin tahsil pays no duty on
exports to places other than the Quetta town and the Pishin
and Kila Abdulla bazars, while that produced in Zhob is not
taxede The import of Kachhi salt into Sibi was permitted
in iSSa oa the payment of a duty of 8 annas a maund, in
the duty was raised to Re. i, and in June, 1895, to
Rj. and formal orders were issued by Government in
January, 1902, legalising the imposition of this duty in
British Baluchistdn and the Agency Territories. The
amount realised from this taxation in 1904-5 was about
Rs. 1,210. During the years 1893-4 to 1902-3 the total
quantity of salt imported into Sibi was 14,610 maunds, on
which Rs. 18,762 were levied as duty. Kachhi salt is
manufactured at Gdjdn in Kaldt territory, the salt pans being
owned- jointly by Sarddr Pasand Khdn, Zarrakzai and
Waddra Sarddr Khdn, Rind, Salt was also manufactured
at Mamal in the Nasirabdd tahsil, where the works were
first opened in or about 1878, when the manufacture of earth
salt was prohibited in Sind and the local salt workers,
known as nthtdris^ crossed over into Nasirabdd, then a
nidbai of the Kaldt State. The right to manufacture and
sell this salt was leased annually to contractors by the Khdn
of Kalat, and the amount of revenue thus realised is said to
have varied from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 7,000 per annum. The
annual out-put was estimated at about 7,000 maunds, of
which about 2,000 maunds were exported to Quetta and
Sibi, 1,000 used locally, and the remainder sold to the inhab-
itants of the neighbouring nidbats and to the Marri and
Bugti tribesmen. There appears to have been no manufac-
ture in 1903-4, but in the May of the following year the

OPIUM.

works were re-openeck These were prohibited in the follow- Miscellane
ing August under the orders of the Government of India, ousReve-
and it has now been decided that the salt administration of .

the Nasirabad tahsil should he amalgamated with that of
Sind, The question of compensating the Baluchistdn Agency
for loss of revenues under the head ‘salt’ is under con-
sideration,

riie method of manufacture of potash ( Mar ) ' has already /Ufdr,
been described in the section on Minerals. It is chiefly
made in the Sibij Kohiu and Nasirabdd districts. The
potash produced in Sibi has been taxed since 18S4, but no
tax is levied in other tahsils, where the quantity of the
manuiacture is trifling. The monopoly at Sibi is sold annu-
ally by public auction, and the contractor has the sole right
to all the Mar bearing plants which are known as Mrm and
/dm] The manufacture is largely dependent on the rainfall
and consequently the amount of the out-turn varies from year
to year. During the flve years 1900-1 to 1904-5, the receipts
from the sale of the monopoly averaged about Rs. 1,120 per
annum.

The import, possession and transfer of opium and poppy Opium,
heads is governed by rules issued by the Local Government
in 1898 under the Opium Act. The cultivation of poppy is
prohibited, and the supply required for local consumption
is imported from the Punjab, under pass, by licensed vendors
who make their own arrangements for procuring it. Such
imports pay no duty.

The exclusive right of retailing opium, preparations of
opium other than smoking preparations, and poppy heads
for ordinary purposes, is disposed of annually by auction by
the Deputy Commissioner subject to the sanction of the
Revenue Commissioner, the number of shops at which sale
is permitted having been previously fixed. In 1904-5
the number of such shops was 46. Medical practitioners
and druggists can obtain licenses to sell opium, etc., in forms
other than smoking preparations and poppy heads, for
medicinal purposes only, on payment of a fee of Rs. 10 per '
annum. Smoking preparations may not. be bought or sold, ' '
and' must be : made up by the smoker. ■ from: opium ■ in his " ■
lawful possession, and then only to the extent of i tola at a
time. The ordinary limits of private possession are 3 tolas

214

CHAP. IIL-^ADMINISTRATIVE..

AUsciiLLANK- of Opium and its preparations (other than smoking prepara-
^ poppy heads\ In 1904-5 the consump-

tion of opium amounted to 2 maunds 25 seers and of poppy
heads to ii seers. The revenue realised was Rs. 2,302.

Into.'cicatmg Besides opium, the intoxicating or hemp drugs, which are
controlled by regulations, are gdnja^ charas, and bhang.
Prior to the time of the Hemp Drugs Commission, the only
restriction imposed was to farm out, by annual auction^ the
monopoly of the vend of these drugs at shops sanctioned by
the Deputy Commissioner. The local cultivation of the hemp
plant is prohibited. The contracts for retail and wholesale
vend were separated in 1902, and at the present time (1905)
the number of licensed shops is 46. The ordinary source of
supply of gdnja and bhang is Sind, and that of charas the
Punjab, but and are also imported to a small

extent from Kaldt and Afghdnistdn. In February 1902,
revised rules were issued under which the farmers are per-
mitted to import the drugs from other British Provinces,
and these, when so imported, are stored in a bonded ware-
house established at Sibi, where small fees are levied and
issues to licensed vendors are taxed. The ordinary rates^
of duty on drugs imported from British territory are Rs. 4
per seer on Rs. Soper maund on charas and Rs. 4

per maund on bhang ; but imports from foreign territory are
taxed at double rates. The contracts for the right to sell
the drugs, both retail and wholesale, are sold annually by
auction by the Deputy Commissioner subject to the sanction
of the Revenue Commissioner, who also fixes the number of
shops. The ordinary limit of private possession is i seer
in the case of bhang Sind 5 tolas in the case of gdnja and
charas. The consumption in 1904-5 was : gdnja 2 chittacks,
charas 15 maunds 27 seers, and bhang 106 maunds 32 seers,
and the revenue amounted to Rs. 3,850. The fees from the
bonded warehouse amounted to Rs. 4,189.

Country The manufacture and vend of country spirits are combined

nmu ^ a monopoly system. The right to manufacture and

sell country liquors, including rum, is farmed annually by
auction, the number of shops at which liquor and rum are
to be sold by the farmer or his agent being fixed previously.

* Note , — The question of the revision of these rates is under
consideration (1906).

FOME/GN LIQUORS.

21.5

The number of such shops in 3904-5 was 46. More than Misckllakk*
I seer of country liquor cannot he sold to anyone person ous Revk-
at a time except with the permission, in writing, of an
Excise officer authorised 00 this behalf by the Deputy
CoiiiiTiissioiier. The revenue in 1904-5 was Rs, 13,579 for
conn! ry liquor and Rs. 926 for rum.

Two distilleries have been provided by Government in the Distillation ■

District one at Sibl and the other at Nasirabdd, at which pf country
... liquors,

country li€|uor is distilled by the contractors who obtain the

farm. The still and the buildings are kept in repair by
Government, but everything else is found by the contractors.

The materials ordinarily used are molasses {gur) and Mkar
or babtUb^axk. When preparing for fermentation i niaiind
oi gur is mixed with 8 seers of bark and 2 maunds of water,
the wash being ready for use in a fortnight or 20 days in
Sibi and in 12 days in NTislrdbdd. Liquor of low strength,
obtained from the first distillation of 6 hours, is called kaclm^
or chirakh. This chirakh^ after a second distillation lasting
for about labours, is known ins kora dodhha. The amount
of liquor thus obtained is about 20 seers. Flavoured liquors
are prepared by the addition of spices such as kamulpair^
gtd kkaira { marsh mallow ), jaijal (nutmeg), indatjuu
( Neritim a 7 iiidyce 7 itricnm ), sdlab misri (salep), ildchi (carda-
mom), hirmij. (citron), gtildh (rose leaves), saunf (aniseed),
sund (dry ginger), and gdzar (carrot seeds). In Sibi the
price varies from Re. i to Rs. 1-4 and in Nasirabdd from
10 to 12 annas per quart bottle according to the quality of
the liquor. The question of the continuance of the Nasiri-
bdd distillery with reference to the smuggling of liquor
across the Sind border is under consideration (1906).

Foreign liquors, which term includes liquor other than Foreign
rum manufactured in other parts of India and imported into liquors,
the District, are sold under wholesale and retail licenses,
which are granted by the Deputy Commissioner on payment
of ixed fees. These ■ amount to Rs. 32 per annum for
wholesale licenses, and vary from Rs. loo to Rs. 300 per
annum for ordinary rrtail shops. There are also hotel,
refreshment room and ddk bungalow licenses ; and in the
case of ordinary shops, opened at places where the sale of
liquor is small and likely to continue for a short time only, a
license may be given at a reduced fee at the discretion of the

2I6

CHAP. IIL-^ADMINISTRATIVE.

Miscellane-
ous Reve-
nue,

Methylated

spirits.

Consumers,
consumption
and aggre-
gate reve-
nue.

Stamps.

Deputy Commissioner. The most important conditions of
retail licenses are that no quantity of liquor greater than 2
Imperial gallons or 12 quart bottles^ or less than i bottle j
shall be sold to any one person at one timej and that no
spirituous liquor, except spirits of wine and methylated
spirits, shall be sold for less than Rs. 1-8 per bottle. The
latter provision is mainly intended to safeguard the revenue
derived from country spirits. During 1904-5 eleven retail
licenses were issued and the fees amounted to Rs. 443.

The import, possession and sale of methylated spirits is
controlled by rules issued by the Revenue Commissioner in
December 1900, and no fees are charged for licenses. In
1904-5, two licenses were issued.

As a general rule in the upper parts of the District, the
consumption of opium, intoxicating drugs and liquors is
chiefly confined to the Indian population residing in the
bazars, and the local people have neither the means nor the
inclination to consume excisable articles. In the Naslrabdd
tahsfl, however, the use of bhang and liquors appears to be
comparatively large both among the Hindus and the local
Muhammadans.

Table XX, Volume B, contains details of the consumption
of and revenue from the principal articles in the old Thal-
Chotiaii District. In 1904-5 the consumption per thousand
of the entire population was i seer of opium, i maund 17
seers of bha?tg^ and seers oi char as. The revenue shows
a considerable decrease during the last fifteen years, the
chief reason being the completion of large works on which
many workmen from India were engaged. In 1902-3, the
total revenue had fallen to Rs. 14,132-11-2 from Rs. 28,149
realized in 1889-90. Since the addition of Naslrabdd tahsil,
the revenue has again risen and the receipts of the District in
1904-5 were Rs. 25,288.

The Indian Stamp and Court Fees Acts and the rules
made under them are in force. Licenses for the sale of
judicial and non-judicial stamps are issued by the Deputy
Commissioner to petition-writers and others who obtain
their supply from the sub-treasuries at Shdhrig, Sibi, Naslr-
dbad and Bdrkhdn, and are paid commission at rates varying
from i2|- annas to rupees per cent, on different kinds of
stamps. In March 1905 there were eleven licensed vendors

LOCAL FUNDS.

217

in the District, In 1904-5 the receipts, excluding lines,
amounted to Rs. 11,185, of which Judicial stamps realized
Rs. 9,311 and non-Judicial stamps Rs. 1,874.

The Income Tax Act (II of 18S6) has not yet been applied
to Baluchistan, but the tax is levied on the salaries of
Government servants by deductions from their pay bills, and
on the salaries of officers paid from municipal and local
funds. The receipts in 1904-5 amounted to Rs. 1,726.

There are three local funds in the District, namely, the Sibi
Municipal Fund, the Shdhrig Bazar Fund and the Ziarat
Improvement Fund. The income and expenditure of the last
named are treated as a sub-head of the Shdhrig Bazar Fund.
The average receipts and expenditure of these funds for 5
yearsending with the 3 ist of March 1902, and the actuals
for each of the 3 years 1902-3 to 1904-5 are shewn in table
XXI, Volume B. ’

The Sibi Municipal Fund was formed in the early eighties
when the Sibi town was the terminus of the railway, and is
governed by the rules issued by the Go\"ernment of India in
AugusV^^ 1883. The Deputy Commissioner is the Adminis-
trator and Controlling Officer, and the Revenue Commissioner
has the powers of a Local Government. The Extra Assist-
ant Commissioner is authorised to incur expenditure within
the sanctioned budget grants up to a limit of Rs. 25,

The principal sources of revenue are {a) Octroi f, which is
levied in Sibi, Kurk, Khajak and Gulu Shahr according to a
schedule of rates sanctioned by the Local Government ; [b)
public gardens and lands and rents of serais^ buildings and
sites ; [c) conservancy cess imposed at rates varying from
4 annas per house to 8 annas per shop in the Sibi town ;
{d) fees from educational institutions.

The fund is expended on objects of public utility in the
places from which the revenue is raised. The chief items of
expenditure are on establishments for tax collecting, conserv-
'\ancy and watch and ward ; the maintenance of gardens,
roads, and arboriculture ; contributions towards medical

* Finance and Commerce Department Resolution No. 2831,

. dated 3 1 St ' August 1 8S3.'

t Note, — The schedule of rates and the rules which regulate the
tax are embodied in a collection of printed papers entitled “ The
System of levying cmd collecting Octroi in Baluchis tdn, 1900,"

Miscellane-
ous Reve-
nue.

.income tax.

Local

Funds,

Sibi Munici-
pal Fund,

^ ...Local

Fcni'k,

Shihrig*
Bazar Fund*

Ziirat Im-
provemeot
Fund®’

2 iS CBA/\ ///--ADMINISmAIYVK

institutions ; the maintenance of schools and libraries and
on public works.

In 1884-5, formation of the fund, the

revenue amounted to Rs. 23,291 and the expenditure to
Rs. 24,586. In the quinquennial period of 1S97-8 to 190 1-2
the average annual income was Rs* 24,743, and the average
expenditure Rs, 23,326. In 1904-5 the net receipts amount-
ed to Rs. 24,166 and the expenditure to Rs. 21,866. In
that year the octroi contributed 6o per cent, of the total
revenue, and the expenditure on education was about 18 per
cent The closing balance of the fund on the 31st of March
1905 amounted to Rs. 19,030.

The Shdhrig Bazar Fund was declared to be an Excluded
Local Fund in 1892. The fund is governed by rules issued
by the Government of India in February 1900 as modified in
April 1902. The Assistant Political Agent is the Administra-
tor, the Deputy Commissioner of the District the Controlling
Officer, and the Revenue Commissioner has the pow’-ers of a
Local Government. The principal sources of revenue are
(a) proceeds of lands assigned to the fund at Shahrig and
Harnai ; (b) conservancy cess levied in the bazars at Spin*
tangi, Harnai, Shahrig and Khost ; (c) octroi, which is
levied in the Harnai, Shdhrig and Khost bazars ; (^) rents of
houses and shops.

The expenditure is chiefly incurred on establishments for
conservancy and watch and ward, education, public gardens
and public works.

In 1891-2, the first year of its existence as an Excluded
Local Fund, the receipts amounted to Rs. 13,314, and the
expenditure to Rs. 6,995. In the quinquennial period from
1897-8 to 1901-2 the average annual income was Rs. 6,803
and the average expenditure Rs. 6,915, while during 1904-5
the receipts amounted to Rs. 6,839 expenditure to

Rs, 6,444, The fund has lost much of its importance since
the days of the construction of the railway, but with the
closing of large works and the gradual development of the
District, both the income and expenditure have exhibited a
tendency to become fairly stationary. The closing balance
in favour of the fund on the 31st of March 1905 was Rs, 7,516.

The Zidrat Improvement Fund was first formed in 1890,
when it was assisted by annual contributions from the several

ZIAMAT IMPROVEMENT FUND,

Excluded Local Funds of the Agency at the rate of 2 per cent,
of their income.

Between 1890-1 and 1895-6, the receipts and expenditure
of the Fund averaged Rs. 3,870 and Rs, 3,846 res*pectiveiy.
In 1896, the contributions were discontinued, and the Fund
was formed into a branch of the Shdhrig bazar fund. In
1899, the following taxes were imposed widi the sanction of
the Government of India : —

Tax on servants ... Re. i per mensem per ser-

vant.

Conservancy tax Rs. 4 per house per mensem.

Rs. 2 per tent ,,

Re. I per shouldari ,,

Water tax ... ... Rs. 5 per hcuse or camp per

mensem.

Bazar Chaukiddri ... By assessment.

Tax on butchers... ... Rs, 7/8 per shop per mensem*

In April 1902 the tax on servants was abolished, the ckaii^
kiddri and water taxes and slaughter fees were retained, and
the following modifications were made as regards other
taxes : —

(1) On house and camp combined. Rs. 5/8 per mensem.

(2) On camp alone ... ,, 3/8 ,,

(3) On house alone ,,4 ,,

A tax of Re. I was also imposed on all iumtimis or other
wheeled carriages bringing passengers or goods into Zidrat.
In May 1902, the payment of Rs. too per annum by each of
the offices of the Agent to the Governor-General, the Revenue
Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner, Sibi, was
sanctioned as a contribution towards the sanitation of the
station. Between 1896-7 and 1902-3, the annual average
revenue and expenditure of the Fund amounted to Rs. 3,128
and Rs, 3,049 respectively,-

In 1904-5 the receipts were Rs. 4,320 and the expenditure

Rs.;3,i6f. , ,

Important civil works in the District are carried out by the
officers of the Military Works Services. The Assistant Com-
manding Royal Engineer of the Loralai Sub-district, with
his head quarters at Loralai, exercises general ci-ntrcl, and
the civil works of the Ssbi District are under the Garrison
Engineer of Loralai, who has under him two Sub-divisional

Public

WORICS.

220

CHAP. III-^ADMINISTRATIVE.

Public

.Works.

Important-

Works.

Officers, one of whom is in subordinate charge of civil works
in the Shdhrig, Sibi and Nasirdbdd tahsils, and the other
in charge of those in the Kohlu tahsil.

Civil works which cost Rs. i,ooo and over are provided for
in the Public Works budget, and are generally carried out by
the Military Works Services. Works of a petty nature
and those required in places remote from head quarters are
executed under th orders of the Deputy Commissioner,
Civil works of this class are supervised by the Assistant
Political Agent, who is assisted by a Sub»overseer paid from
the Provincial revenues. The Sind canals in the Nasirabad
tahsil are in the charge of the Executive Engineer of the
Begdri Canals in subordination to the Superintending
Engineer ol the Indus Right Bank Division.

Reference will be found in the section of Means of
Communication to the railways and principal roads, and a
separate account of the Begdri and the Desert Canals has
been given in the section on Canals, and of the Sibi Water
Works in the article on ‘‘ Sibi Town.” The following are the
principal buildings in the District : —

Work.

Year

when'

comple-

ted.

Approxi-
mate cost.

Rs.

Political AgenPs house (Sibi)

1 87s

5 >275

Post Office (Sibi)

1878 80

5,047

Telegraph Office (Sibi) ...

1878-80

7^914

Tahsil and ihdna (Sibi)

1881-2

34 jbo 7

Civil Hospital (Sibi) ... ,,,

•»»

7,067

Thdna (I-Iarnai)

1883

6,300

Tahsil and thdna (Shdhrig)

1883

12,573

Agent to the Governor-Generars Circuit

house

(SibiJ

1884

38,373

JaiUSibi)

1886

20,114

Police Lines (Sibi)

5887

15^373

Political Agent’s house (Zidrat) ...

1891

16,689

Agent to the Governor-Generars

0 ii s e

(Zidrat) ...

1891-2

39.012

Levy fjost and Police lines (Shdhrig)

1893

8,001

Political Agent’s Office (Sibi)

1895

8,056

Levy Lines (Sibi)

1895

4,55s

Political Agent’s Office (Zidrat) ...

' ««

1896

I 5 »oo 7

Victoria Memorial Hall (Sibi) ...

190,3 '; ,

38,800

Agent to the Governor-General’

Office

(Zidrat) ■" ...

....

1902-3

6,292' ■

LEVY POSTS.

the houses here mentioned there

are

Public

Works.

Agent’s house (called

ill addition to
at Sibi

1. The Assistant Political
Mosley’s house)

and at Ziarat

2. Revenue Commissioner’s house.

First Assistant’s house.

Second Assistant’s house,

Pentonvilla” for Political Agent, Loralai.

Forest Officer’s house.

A list of the Rest-houses in different parts of the District
is given in table XII, Volume B.

Levy post.s have been built at various places ; the buildings Levy posts
in charge of Civil Oflicers are : at Kuridk, Gamboli, Kandi,

Tung Kurk, Mizri, Khajak, Chdndia, Talli, Mai, Sdngan,

QuaL Lehri, Phuleji, Shdhpur, Asreli, Heran, Khaji'iri, Gan-
doi, Gorandri^ Sdi, Nasirdbdd, Usta, Kohlu and Malikzai ;
and those in charge of Public Works Department: at Sibi,

Ndrigorge, Tanddri, Bdbar Kach, Daldjdl, Kuchdli, Splntangi,
Gandakindaff, Rojhdn, Gandaka, Mdnjhipur, Sohbatpur,

Saori Malguzdr, Siindri, Harnai, Ndkas, Shdhrig, Khost,

Dirgi, Mangi, Mudgorge, Kach, Torkhan, Dilki'ina, Zandra,

Ziarat and Sperardgha.

The station of Sibi was first temporarily occupied by troops Army.
in 1839, and was evacuated on the conclusion of the first
Afghdn war in 1842. On the outbreak of the second Afghdn
‘ war, Sibi was again occupied, and in 18S2, the following
posts in the District, in addition to Sibi, were held by troops :

Kach, Dirgi, Shdhrig, Harnai, Splntangi, Kuchdli, Gandakin-
daff, Kaldti kila, Quat, Talli. Mai, Lahri, Phuleji, Shdhpur,
k Gandoi, and Sdi. The majority of these garrisons were with-
drawn in 1883, and the posts were made over to the local
levies, Kach and Sdi, whicli were evacuated in 1890 and 1891
; respectively, being the two last to be given up.

the present time (1905) the only troops permanently
quartered In the District consist of a smsll detachment of 50
rille?. at Sibi, which supplies a guard over the Sub-treasury.

^ Troops are occasionally sent from Quetta to Sibi during the

dnter months.

222

CffA P. III. ---AI)J¥imsmA TIVE.

Between 1877 and 1882 payments for tribal services were
sanctioned for the protection of the various passes, the
telegraph lines and for carrying the mails. At this time a
number of isolated posts were garrisoned by small detach-
ments of regular troops, a system which the military
authorities were anxious to abolish. With this object a
committee was assembled at Quetta in 1883, under the
.^residency of Sir Robert Sandeman, to consider the revision
and~l^’e-distribution of the Levy services. Besides recom-
mending the withdrawal of regular troops from several
posts and their occupation by levies, the committee laid
down certain general principles for future guidance. They
drew a sharp line between active and pensioned service,
and decided that all persons drawing pay, whether chiefs or
others, who were not pensioners, must render an equivalent
in service. Levies, they also considered, should be local,
and tribal responsibility enforced. The chiefs nominating
and the men nominated should, as a rule, belong to the
immediate neighbourhood of the post in which they were
employed. These principles are still the back-bone of the
levy system. Under it service is given to chiefs or headmen
in localities where they have influence, and they can nomi-
nate their men, subject to confirmation by the Deputy
Commissioner or the officer in charge of a Sub-division.
A nominee of a chief or headman may be rejected on the
score of physical unfitness, bad character or other sufficient
cause. The men bring their own weapons, and the sowars
their own mounts, the latter being subject to approval.

At the time when the committee of 1883 met, the services
in the Sibi district cost Rs. 9, 389-8-0"^^' per mensem, and com-
prised a telegraph service between Kuchfili and Kach holding
6 posts and costing Rs. 730 per mensem, a postal service
between Sibi and Dirgi and Gandakindaff and Tung costing
Rs. a service from Afghdn tribes in Harnai, Kach,

Mdngi and Dirgi costing Rs. 1,298, and frontier levies,
including the Marri and Bugti services, costing Rs. 6,220.
Detachments of the Baloch Guide Corps, a relic of the days
when the affairs on the Baloch border were managed by the.
Superintendent of the U pper Sind Frontier, were also located

* These figures only represent the levies stationed in those parts
of the District which are now included in the new Sibi District.

LEVIES,

223

at Dirgi, Hariiai, Spintangi, Kuchali, Quat-Maiidai, Kaiiti
Kila, Nan gorge, Sibi and the Sind Frontier posts.

Under the revised scheme the total monthly cost of the
levies in the District was increased to Rs. 11,504-8 per men-
sem; Rs. 690 being allotted for the telegraph, Rs. 1,219-8 for
the postal, and Rs. 9>595 ^he political services.

The political services*’ comprised 16 headmen, 32 Resai-
dars and other officers, 214 Sowars, 74 footmen and 4 clerks
and the monthly cost was Rs. 9,595. Under this scheme
several posts along important lines of communication were
manned by the levies ; the Baloch Guide Corps was disbanded
and the posts named in the margin were placed under the

Post.

Monthly Cost.

Rs.

Kach

750

Talli

... 710

Mai

.• » 5S0

Lahri

. ... 480

Phuleji ... ... 380

Shahpur ...

... 455

Garandri

• ••• 455

Gandoi

. ... 480

Superintendent of Levies. In
1886 the appointment of Su-
perintendent was abolished
and the posts under his control
were transferred to the Politi-
cal Agent. On the completion
of the railway line, the majority
of the levies hitherto employed
in the Marri country under
‘‘Postal and lelegraph services” were, in consideration of the
additional responsibility thrown on the tribe by the opening
of the railway line through their country, transferred in 1887
to the head of “ Political Levies” and the levy service redis-
tributed accordingly. In 1889, another committee was
assembled to consider the working of the levies and police,
and the outcome of their deliberations was the sanction by
the Government of India to the provincialisation of both
services. The levy system was revised in 1890, and in the
same year certain services were transferred to the newly
created Zhob District. The outposts of Kach and Sdi,
hitherto held by military detachments, were also handed over
to the levies in July i8go and April 1891 respectively. In
certain 1 eductions were made owing to the partial
failure of revenues in Zhob, and in March 1898 the levy
service was again reorganised.

In October 1903, the new Loralai District was formed,
and the tahslls of Duki, Sanjdwi and Bdrkhdn with their
establishments were transferred to that District, while the
Nasirdbdd tahsil was added to the new Sibi District. The

224

CHA P, II L —A DMIMSTRA TIVE.

total strength of the levies in December 1905 was 722,
consisting of 140 headmen and officers, 436 sowars, 120
footmen and 26 clerks. Their monthly sanctioned cost is
Rs. 16, 256-9-5, and they are distributed in 63 posts, the
details of which are shown in table XXII, Volume B.

The levies in this District may be classed as those employ-
ed in the administered districts and those maintained in the
tribal areas. The former are no longer merely stationed at
posts for the purposes of watch and ward, but are actively
employed on police, executive and revenue work, and per-
form the duties which in more regular provinces would be
carried out by the rural police, village clumkiddrs and tahsil
ainla generally. They are also employed in keeping up
communication between different parts of the country where
there are no postal systems, and providing escorts and
guides. The levies in the tribal areas are employed under
the orders of the chiefs in the management of the tribal
tracts, the maintenance of law and order, and in guarding
the roads and passes within their limits. Further details in
connection with the levies in the Marri and Bugti country are
given in Chapter V.

A police force was first sanctioned for Sibi, Harnai and the
railway in 1879, and in 1882 the force consisted of one in-
spector, one deputy inspector, one jemaddr, 50 sowars, 21
sergeants, and 100 constables. At this time the pay of the
different grades varied in different parts of the Agency, and
the question of putting them on a uniform footing was taken
up by the committee already referred to, which assembled in
1S83 to consider the revision of the levy services. The
revised strength of the police, recommended by this commit-
tee and sanctioned by Government, comprised 2 deputy
inspectors, 2 miiharirs^ 21 sergeants, i jemaddr, 5 duffadars,
55 sowdrs, 90 constables, 10 footmen, 10 harkmiddDes^ 4
chankiddrs and 2 menials ; and the total monthly cost was
Rs. 3,566 per mensem. In 1886, the police force of the District
consisted of 207 men of all grades, including 58 railway
police, and cost Rs. 4,934 per mensem. The railway police
included a European Inspector on Rs. 200 per mensem. In
February 1889, a committee was assembled under the presi-
dency of Colonel Sir Robert Sandeman to consider the
general question of the administration of the police and

POLICE.

levies, and the outcome of its deliberations was the appoint •»
ment of an Assistant Political Agent, who was to be District
Superintendent of Police, and of a Nativ^e Inspector at
Rs. 150 per mensem, the raising of the pay of the European
Inspector to Rs. 250, and the provincialisation of the police
and levy services. In 1890, reductions were made in the
numbers of both the District and the railway police, the hatta
or allowance paid for dearness of provisions was abolished,
the scale ol the pay raised, and the Deputy Commissioner
made ex-officio Deputy Inspector-General for Police. The
European Inspector was given the honorary rank of Assistant
District Superintendent of Police, and placed in executive
charge of the railway police. In April 1897, the Government
of India sanctioned the appointment of a District Superin-
tendent of Police on Rs. 600 for the Quetta-Pishin District
and North-Western Railway Police within the limit of the
Baiuchistdn Agency, a police officer being deputed from the
Punjab who was to receive an allowance of Rs. 100 per
mensem while employed in Baluchistdn. Mr. S, Wallace
joined in A^ugust 1897, and in November 1S97 also

placed in charge of the Thal-Chotiali District Police. The
powers conferred on Political Officers in 1890 in regard to
the police were now withdrawn. The arrangement whereby
an officer was obtained from the Punjab was reconsidered
in 1899, and a local appointment of a District Superinten-
dent of Police on Rs, 400 per mensem rising by annual
Increments of Rs. 40 to Rs* 600 v/as sanctioned.

From time to time it has been held that the proper agency
for the detection of crime in the District was the local head-
men and the levies, rather than the foreign policemen, and
that the system of tribal responsibility should be more
generally extended. In April 1902, an order was issued
by the Agent to the Governor-General in which it was laid-
down that it was the duty of all lambarddrs or headmen to
keep a watch on their villages, and to report the misconduct
of any one or the advent of any suspicious persons ; it was
also their duty to detect crime and, when cases were taken
up by the Government, to help in their detection by giving
direct information or furnishing clues. The headmen were
also held to be responsible in the case of the tracks of
thieves not being traced beyond their villages. In 1903,

Police,,

2:2 6 -

CHAP. JIL-^ADMINISTRATIVE.

Police.

Total

Strengrtli.

$ibi Muni-
cipal and
Shdhrig
Bazar
Fund
Police.

the police force was again reconstituted and it was decided
that the investigation and detection of crime should in future
be more largely entrusted to levies, and that except in the
larger tow’ns and bazars on the railway, the duties of the
police should be more especially confined to guards and
escort duty.

On the 31st of March 1905 the Police frrce of the District
totalled 31 1 and included one European inspector, 9 deputy
inspectors, 54 sergeants, 22 mounted men and 222 consta-
bles. They were distributed as under : —

Guards, escorts and miscellaneous duties

including reserve and sick, &c. ... ... 128

Sibi City Thdna ... ... •••

Harnai Thdna •*. •• 12

Shdhrig Thdna ... ... ••• 20

Kohlu Thdna ... ... ... ... ••• 9

Nasirdbdd Thdna *•. 22

Khostj Zarddlu, Mai and Talli Chaukis ... 8

At 19 Railway Stations 63

Twelve men were also employed on temporary guard duty
provided for special purposes and paid for by the employers.
Details of the distribution are given in table XXIII, Vol. B.
The District police and the Railway police from Jhatpat to-
Kach Kotai are directly under the charge of the European
Inspector of Police in subordination to the District Superin-
tendent of Police at Quetta. The head-quarters of the local
police office are at Shdhrig in the summer and at Sibi in
the winter.

The cost of the force employed in the Sibi town and in the
bazars of Khost, Shdhrig and Harnai is charged against
the Provincial Revenues, to which the Sibi Municipal fund
contributes Rs. 152 and the Shdhrig bazar fund Rs. 114 per
mensem. The strength of the force in each place is as

under

. Constables.

Sibi town ...

• • •

... ... 12

Khost

....

Shdhrig ...

. . . '

... ^ ... " 4 '

Harnai

« * «

... ..... . . .

Total ... 21

POLICE.

227

XI16 rsiilwsiy police s.re not a, distinct body but form part
of the District police. An inspector holds charge, and the
total number of men employed is 63. Of these 15 men are
employed in the Sibi Railway Thdna, and the remainder are
distributed at 18 stations. The Railway Department
employ their own chaukiddrs^

Two duffadars and six chaukiddrs are employed by the
Sibi municipal fund for night watch at Khajak, Kurk and
Gulii Shahr, and one chaiikiddr by the Shdhrig bazar fund
at the Spintangi bazar.

The police are enlisted chiefly from Punjabis and others,
who come to Baluchistdn from India in search of work, and
the percentage of the people of the country employed in the
force is ii. There seems no reason why local men of good
character should not be obtained in time and with patience,
but at present the majority seem unwilling to serve except
in the immediate vicinity of their homes.

Measures have been taken from time to time to improve
the pay of the various grades. The revision, which was
sanctioned in 1903, provided local allowances for certain
posts of deputy inspectors and for all trackers ; an increase
from Rs. 17 to Rs. 18 per mensem in the pay of sergeants
of the second grade; and the reconstitution of the pro-
portions of the various grades of sergeants and constables
so as to give a fairer scale and quicker rate of promotion.
The rules regarding finger prints laid down in Punjab
Government Resolution No. 1998, dated 3rd of Septem-
ber, 1903, were adopted in 1904 for taking the finger impres-
sions of pensioners, but systematic measures for the identi-
fication of criminals by this method have not. yet been
introduced.

ihe police have hitherto been armed with snider rifles and
side arms, but the substitution of bored out Martini Henry
rifles has been sanctioned, and the re-armament is being
carried out (1906-7). An excellent weapon in the shape of a
short, weighted hog-spear, with a crook let into the head,
has been supplied to the municipal police at Sibi, Harnai
Shdhrig and Khost since 1904.

Table XXIV, VoL B., shows the details of cognizable
crime for the old Thai-Chotiali District for the years 1899 to
1902 (both inclusive) and for the new Sibi District for 1903

Police'.

Railway

Police,

ChaiiMddfs*

System of
recruitment
and train-
ing.

Measures
taken to
improve the
status of the
Police, etc.

Arms.

Cognizable

crime.

228

CHAP, Ill-^ADMiNlSTRATIVE^

and 1904. The average iiumber of cases : reported diirlH^j-
the former period was 355, and the percentage of convictions ^

S 3 *

During 1904 the- number of cases was 249 and the percen-
tage of convictions 8.

The figures given in the Table quoted above . :practicali}-
include all. cases of cognizable crime which occurred in the
old Thai Chotiaii District, but for purposes of comparison, as .
regards the’ working of the police and an examination of the
crime in the District in later years, their value is vitiated by ,
the changes effected in the formation of the Agency in Octo-
ber 1903, and by the introduction in 1902 of a new system of
criminal investigation.. In accordance with this scheme the :
District was divided for purposes of investigation into two
separate areas, namely, the Political area” in which
no regular census had been taken, and (b) that portion of
the District which had been enumerated during the Census
of 1901, and which included the town of Sibi, all bazars and
the Railway limits . from. Kach to Jhatpat In the latter
area, the investigation of crime was undertaken, as hereto-
fore, directly by the police. As regards cases which occurred
in the Political area, the investigation was conducted by the
thdnaddr with the aid of the local levies and headmen, and
each case w^as reported in the first instance to the magistrate
of the sub-division or to the tahsllddr, who, after personal
enquiries, decided whether it should be dealt with in accord-
ance with the ordinary judicial procedure or b a submitted
to a jirga. In the latter case the crime was not entered in
the usual list of the police returns. The immediate result
was that in 1902 the total number of cognizable eases shown
in the police returns fell to 191 from an average of 39610 each,
of the four preceding years, and as compared With 473 cases
reported in 1898-9. The figures, therefore, for the later
years, which will be (ound ln table .XXIV, Vol. B,, really^
indicate the state of crime in the towns and bazars. Outside
these areas the important forms of crime are murders in
adultery cases, cattle lifting and occasional robbery.

Generally speaking the District may be said to be remark-
ably free from crime; and though the average of mur-
ders is large, the great majority are committed in
connection with adultery cases, in which in accordance

mACiCERS:

229

with' the traditions and customs of- most' of the', sections
of the population, the guilty persons are punishable by death.
This class of murder, which is usually dealt with by jirgas^
is gradually decreasing, as the people are coming more and
more under the influence of civilization. Crime on the whole
is fairly distributed among the several tribes residing within
the District, and with the exception of the Marris, who were
notorious cattle-thieves, no one tribe can be said to be a
special offender as regards any particular class of crime.
Rifle stealing is not a local crime, and the only two impor-
tant cases which have occurred in recent years, i.e., the theft
ill 1 894 of 4 rifles belonging to the military guard over the Sibi
sub-treasury and the theft of 14 Martini-Henry rifles from the
Volunteer Armoury at Sibi in Januar}^ 1900, were committed
by the relations of Pathdn soldiers quartered in Sibi. In the
more settled districts, disputes over women and about land and
water are the most frequent causes of crime. These cases,
however, are usually dealt with hy jir gas. In the bazars the
largest number of cases occurs in Sibi, and the principal
offenders are Brdhuis, Punjabis, Ghilzais and domestic servants
who commit petty thefts and occasionally house-breaking.

Much use is made of trackers, one of whom is attached to
nearly every large thdna. Some of them are recruited from
Dera Ghdzi Khdn ; but many of the local tribesmen are
experts, and the Marris and Bugtis are especially clever in
tracking across hilly and rough country. Cases have been
known of the recovery of lost animals, several months after
their loss, by the trackers identifying their prints in areas
far removed from the scene of the theft. A good instance in
point was the following up of some camels which had been
carried off from Tratdni in the Marri country to Larkina in
Sind, where they were eventually recovered.

In 1900, a set of rules was framed by the inter-tribal Jirga
at Fort Munro, under the orders of the Commissioner of the
Ddrajit Division dealing with the action to be taken in the
case of offenders taking refuge in other tribes, and defining
the responsibility of the chiefs and headmen in such cases.
These rules are still in force, and as they are of importance as
regards the administration of the tribal areas, they are given
in full in appendix IV. The same appendix contains the rules

Police.

Trackers.

Prevention
of crime on
the Punjab
border.

230

CHAP. III--ADMINISTRATIVE.

Police.

Cattle

potinds.

Jails.

drawn up in 1902 with a view to checking cattle-lifting between
D6ra Ghdzi Khdn and the Baluchistdn districts on the border.

The District possesses 32 cattle pounds which are located
at Sibi, Talli, Mai, Shdhrig, Khost, Harnai, Naslrdbdd,
Khajak, Kurk, Gulu Shahr, Quat-Mandai, Sdogin^ Bhakhra,
Mizri, Dehpdl, Hdmbi, Basti Bostdii, Kote Shahr^ Uridnij
Zidrat, Kach, Kahdn, Pur, Spintangi, Usta, Ganddkha,
Sanari, Rojhdn, Mdnjhipur, Muhabatpur, Malguzdr and
Bagar. The first seven are managed by the Police and the
remainder by the Civil Department; those at Hdmbi, Basti
Bostdn and Dehpdl being opened at harvest time only.
Fines are levied at rates which vary from i anna per day for
a sheep or goat to 8 annas per day for a camel, in addition
to which feeding charges are also imposed. The receipts of
ail cattle pounds, with the exception of that at Zidrat which
belongs to the Zidrat Improvement Fund, are credited to the
Provincial Revenues under head XVII Police,” from which
the charges for maintenance are also met.

The district jail at Sibi, which was built in 1886 at a cost
of Rs, 20,114,* has accommodation for 67 male and 8 female
prisoners. I'here are also subsidiary jails at Shdlirig,
Harnai, Kohlu and Nasirdbdd which can hold from 15 to 20
prisoners each. Convicts whose terms of imprisonment do
not exceed three months are kept in the subsidiary jails ;
those whose terms exceed three months but are less than six
months are detained in the Sibi jail, while those whose terms
exceed six months are sent to the Shikarpur jail. Murderous
fanatics, sentenced to life imprisonment under section 2 of
the Frontier Murderous Outrages Regulation (IV of 1901),
are sent to the Hyderdbdd Central Prison. Juvenile prison-
ers are sent to th^ reformatory at Shikarpur and European
convicts to the jail at Karachi, Civil prisoners are kept in
both the district and subsidiary jails. The prisoners are
employed in grinding corn for their own food, in making
blankets for bedding and clothing, and on wmrk in the public
gardens and on the roads.

During 1904-5 the total daily average number of prisoners
was 80 : males 77 and females 3 ; and the total expenditure
on establishment and contingencies for the year amounted to

♦ Does not include out-houses, &c., costing Rs. 5,786 and buUt in
after years.

EDUCATION.

23 E

:Rs. 7ii7i. The number of prisoners in the jails on the 31st
of March, 1905, was 69 : males 64 and females 5. There is
no lunatic asylum in the District, and such lunatics as are
required to be detained in an asylum are sent toHyderdbdd
in Sind through the Deputy Commissioner of the Upper Sind
Frontier at Jacobdbdd,

Before the British occupation no system of public instruc-
tion existed. Mitllds taught the Kordn by rote to boys and
a few girls, and such men as aspired to a more extended
knowledge of Muhammadan theology and law had to spend
some years in Kandahdr or in Sind in prosecuting their
studies. Miillds charged no tuition fees, but were maintained
by the subscribed by the villagers, generally one-tenth

of the produce of the lands and one-fortieth of the flocks,
which every Muhammadan is required to set apart for charity,
,ajid also by alms given on various occasions and by marri-
age fees. This system is still maintained in many places in
the District, and a rough estimate shows that in 96 such
institutions about 861 boys and 65 girls were under instruc-
tion in 1903.

An AnglO‘Veniacular middle school was first opened at
Sibi in 1882, the cost of the building, establishment and
other charges being met from the town funds.

In 1898, the present school building, kn^iwa as the Barnes
School, was erected at a cost of Rs. 3,3 15> to which Provin-
cial Revenues contributed Rs. 1,410, the additional cost being
raised by private subscriptions. Books, furniture, etc., were
provided at a cost of Rs. 1,000 and Rs. 2,950 was invested
in a Scholarship fund, both these sums being also collected
by private subscriptions. The appointment of a head master
paid from Provincial Revenues was sanctioned, and the
teaching staff was at the same time increased and the pay
.revised. A sum of Rs. 10 per mensem was sanctioned from
Provincial Revenues in 1899 for scholarships for local students;
and in the same year a Sindi department was added, and a
boarding house provided for local boys. Between 1890 and
1904, 31 boys passed the middle school examination. The
number of pupils in March, 1905, was 108.

A school which admits European and Eurasian children of
both sexes was established in Sibi in 1892. It follows the
Education Code for European schools in the Punjab, and

■JailsJ

Education.

Early

methods.

Growth of
schools.

The Barnes
School,

Education of
Europeans
and Eura-
sians.

chap. in-^ADMINISTRATIVE.

Education

Female

education.

Education
of Muham-
madans.

Village

schools.

Miscellane-

ous.

teaches up to the middle standard. The, sources of income
are fees and contributions paid by the Sibi Municipality and
the North-Western Railway. The number of pupils in
March, 1905, was 9.

A Primary school for girls was established in Sibi by private
subscription in January, 1S97, and is now maintained from
the municipal funds. Since 1899 it has been located in the
old building formerly used for the boys’ school. The school
is divided, according to the vernacular language which
forms the medium of instruction, into Urdu, Hindi and
Gurmukhi departments, each department having five classes.
Since its establishment a number of girls have successfully
passed the upper primary examination. The number of
pupils in March, 1905, was 48, pf whom 32 were Hindus and
16 Muhammadans.

Special efforts have been made from time to time to
popularise education among the local Muhammadans, the
more important measures being the exemption of local boys
from certain tuition fees in Sibi ; the entire exemption of
monthly tuition fees in all village schools ; the reservation of
a certain number of stipends in the Barnes’ school for local
boys; the provision of a boarding house at Sibi; and the
opening of a special class for Muhammadan girls, in which
the Koran is taught.

Primary schools have been opened at Shdhrig (1804)
Kowds (1896), Kohlu {1901), Khajak (19^2), Sdngdn (1903}
and Kurk (1903). ^

Table XXV, Vol. B., contains the statistics of the number
and class ot pupils, the sources of income and the cost of
each school during 1904-5. In March, 1905, there were 9

schools containing 301 pupils, of whom 136 were local Pa-

thdn.s, Baloch and others. The total cost of education in
1904-5 was Rs. 7,057, of which Rs. 4, 162 were paid by the
local funds, Rs. 1,995 contributed by Provincial Revenues,

Rs. 840by the North-Western Railway, while the balance-
was met from fees and private subscriptions. The cost of
the Kowds, Sdngdn and Kohlu village schools is paid from
the Provincial Revenues, and that of the Sibi Girls’ school
and the village schools of Kurk and Khajak from the local
unds. The Barnes’ school is maintained from local funds,,
assisted by a grant from Provincial Revenues. The public

MEDWAL.v ■ ' ^233

schools:, in the Shdhrig sub-division are managed by the Education.
Assistant Political Agent, Sibi, and those in the Sibi
sub-division are under the control of the Extra Assistant
Commissioner, Sibi, who is assisted in the management of
the Barnes’ school and* the Girls’ school by a committee
representing the various native communities. The scheme of
studies and the scale of tuition fees are based on the Punjab
models. In 1903, an appointment of Inspector-General ot
Education was sanctioned for the North-West Frontier
Province and Baluchistdn, and a Personal Assistant to the
Inspector-General of Education has since been stationed at
Quetta, The latter is now in charge of all matters connected
with the educational and physical training of the pupils. :

A public library was established at Sibi in 1888, and was Libraries,
named the Gaisford Library ” in 1898 in memory of the
late Lieutenant-Colonel G. Gaisford. It has three classes of
members, the rates of monthly subscription are annas 4, 8
and Re, I, and it receives a monthly grant of Rs. 20 from the
Sibi municipal funds. In March 1905, the library had 38
members, and possessed 672 English and 297 vernacular
books ; it subscribed to 14 papers and periodicals.

The District possesses a civil hospital at Sibi, a civil dis- Mfdical.
pensary at Harnai and railway dispensaries at Shdhrig and
Khost. Separate statistics for each, covering the period
from 1893 to 1904, will be found in table XXVI, Vol. B.

There is also a Zenana Dispensary at Sibi which was
opened in 1903, and was named the Mclvor dispensary in
memory of the late Major Ivar Mclvor.

The Principal Medical Officer is the ^Agency Surgeon, who is
also the Administrative Medical Officer of the whole Province.

The Sibi railway and civil dispensaries were first establish- jiie Sibi
ed in 1880; in the autumn of the following year they were .
amalgamated into a civil hospital under the charge of a
Military Medical Officer who received an allowance of Rs. 150
a month. Since 1883 the hospital has been placed under the
charge of an Assistant Surgeon, who has under him two
Hospital Assistants, one of whom is paid for by the North-
Western Railway. The Sibi municipal funds contribute a
monthly sum of Rs. 140, and the balance of the expenditure
is paid partly by the North-Western Railway and partly from
Provincial Revenues. In 1904 the total number of in-patients

234

CHAP. IIL—ABMimSTRATIVE.

Medical, treated was 452 and of out-door patients 11,770^ whilst 505
operations were performed.

The Sibi The Sibi female dispensary was established by subscrip.

Female ^ 1903, and the present building was presented by

Bhdi Sant Sing, the Government contractor at the Khost
Colliery. It is in charge of a lady Assistant Surgeon, and
the monthly expenditure amounts to about Rs, 150, of which
Rs. 30 are paid by Provincial Revenues, Rs. 70 by local
funds, Rs. 20 by Dufferin Fund, Rs, 25 by interest of money
invested in Government paper and the balance by private
subscriptions.

with the continuance

Other

dispensaries.

Principal
diseases and
their causes.

Malaria.

The Shdhrig and the Khost Railway dispensaries were
opened in June 1887 and May i8Sq respectively, and the
civil dispensary at Harnai in 1890. The number of in*
patients treated in these dispensaries in 1904 was 576 and of
out-door patients 34,130.

Since 1904, the dispensary at Sanjciwi (in the Loralai Dis-
trict) is moved annually to Zidrat during the summer months.

The principal diseases are malarial fever, dysentery, eye
diseases and diseases of the skin, ulcers and syphilis, whilst
in the winter in the higher parts of the District the exces-
sive cold causes attacks of pneumonia, catarrh, bronchitis
and frost bites.

In his Medical Report for the year 1904 the Agency Sur-
geon records that in Baluchistdn malaria is ** at once the
greatest primary cause of illness, and indirectly gives rise to a
large proportion of the ill-health expressed in other terms.’’
To show what can be done by preventive measures, Major
Duke quotes the records of the Shdhrig Railway Dispensary,
which is largely attended by the civil population of the tahsil
bazar and the villages in the neighbourhood. The average
annual number of malarial cases treated between 1898 and 1900
was 2,827, 9.nd in 1900 there were 3,227 cases. The follow-
ing year the number rose to 3,376 cases, and in 1902 special
anti-malarial measures were enforced. Quinine was distri-
buted, surface drainage and the kerosining of pools were
adopted, and the malarial cases fell to 2,722 In 1903 these
measures were continued, and in a Iditlon the cultivation of
rice within a mile of the tahsil was prohibited, and in that

year the cases fell to

of these measures, there was a further decrease to 91^1 cases.

Sraali-poK

and

rneasies.

At the same time in the dispensaries above and below Shdhrig MBRi[C4f^

in the last named year, there was in the one case a steady

and in the other a marked increase of malarial cases. Thus

1904 was evidently not a healthy year in the District, and

there is no evidence of any special exodus of the population.

The effectiveness of the anti-malarial campaign would, there-
fore, seem to be clearly established.

Both small-pox (kawae) and measles appear to be endemic.

The latter disease is fairly frequent, and is often attended
with considerable mortality among the children. The local
people consider it to be generally followed by dysentery and
cough, doubtless owing to the absence of precautions dur-
ing convalescence.

Small-pox is also a frequent visitor in all parts of the
District, and its prevalence is probably due to the local
practice of inoculation. Of later years, both the frequency
and severity of the epidemics have been lessened by the
introduction of vaccination, but the disease is still held in
much dread by the tribesmen.

Cholera appeared in 1883 Harnai valley Cholera

during the construction of the Sind-Pishin railway, and
again in the spring of 1885 when it caused heavy mortality
among the workmen and the troops guarding the line.

The disease also spread to all parts of the District, but the
numbers of the seizures are not known, as no regular system
of registration was then in force. The next serious out-
break occurred in the autumn of 1891, when there were over
300 seizures and 170 deaths among the railway coolies
working at Mudgorge, Harnai and Dirgi. In the following
year a few cases were reported in the Sibi District, and
later on the disease spread to Sanjdwi, Duki and the Marri
country, causing con.‘-iderable mortality. In 1896, ii cases
and 10 deaths occurred among the coolies working in the
Shilhrig mines. The infection is said to have been introduced
from Afghanistan by the Powindahs moving down to the Pun-
jab. Sibi was also infected and there were 58 seizures and
32 deaths. The last epidemic appeared in 1903 when
the disease spread through the greater part of Baluchistdn,
but, as far as the District was concerned, was confined to
the town of Sibi and the villages in the Harnai valley and
the Zidrat hills.

CHOLERA,

MKB'IGAL.

Typhus.

Plague pre-
cautions,

Vaccination
and inocu-
lation.

<236 CHAP. IIL^'ABMINISTRATIVE.

, ' Writing- in. conn^ with 'the outbreaks of ' ch-olera in
■1891 and 1892, the Agency Surgeon said

The history of these two outbreaks of cholera closely
resembles that of others already recorded in former years.
The disease generally first appears among the people liviiio-
ill the Boldn or Ndri systems of water-supply, which consist
of exposed surface irrigation streams easily susceptible of
pollution and infection, or it suddenly breaks out among
workmen who are dependent on open, exposed streams for
their water-supply. The disease is then carried from one
exposed water-supply to another, and as these supplies are
often limited in number and far apart, and, as the travellers
generally travel long distance to their homes, infection is
quickly and widely spread in all directions. In my opinion
all open, exposed streams, especially those on the line .of
frequented roads or kdjiia tracks are never safe, as they are
always exposed to pollution and infection from many sources,
'ilie only extensive and sudden outbreaks of cholera we
have had in the last fifteen years in Baluchistdn have occur-
red in villages or collections of men congregated along open
streams ; while, on the other hand, towns, villages and
Other communities, supplied with water taken direct from
springs, artesian wells, or deep Mrezes not susceptible of
pollution or infection, have never developed cholera to any
gi'eat extent*^'

^ A virulent epidemic of typhus fever broke out in 1903-4
in the tahsils which had suffered from cholera, but the
disease was local and did not spread into the outlying parts
of the District.

Since 1896, an Inspection Camp has been maintained
during the winter months at Sibi, where people coming by
train from infected areas are examined and, if necessary,
detained. During the summer the camp is moved to Hirok
m the Bolan Pass. It is in charge of a Medical Officer
whose salary is charged to the Provincial Revenues, while
other expenses are paid pro rata by the local funds of the
Agency.

Vaccination is optional, and in the greater part of the
Pistrict inoculation is still in vogue. The advantages of
^ ccmation are, however, beginni ng to be appreciated, and
‘ Baluchistdn Agency Administrative Report, .892-3, pages 183-184.

■iNDIGENO US REMEDIES.

237 -

bet ween 1895 and 19Q2, 16,344 successful operations were
'performed by Government vaccinators in the old Thai-
Chotiaii District. In 1904 the number of operations in the
Sibi District was 1,156. There appears to be no consci-
entious objection to vaccination, but the people are still
Ignorant and apathetic, and until quite recent years only
resorted to vaccination when an outbreak of small-pox
actually occurred.

Inoculation is practised by mullm^ saiads and other persons
of religious sanctity, whose services are requisitioned when an
outbreak of small-pox occurs, and who are paid a small fee as
an offering in cash or kind. Certain persons are generally
considered specialists in the art, and the operation is either
performed by them personally or by their deputies {khalifa).
The method usually adopted is for a small incision to be
made with a razor on the wrist of the right hand in which
the sraall-pox powdered pustules, mixed with some aromatic
substances, and a grain of wheat are placed. Among the
Harris the incision is generally made on the left wrist. An
eruption and fever generally occur within three days of the
operation, and at this time the patient is fed on strengthen-
ing foods, such as meat, soup and milk, the details varying
in different parts of the District. If no eruption or fever
occurs within three days, the operation is repeated a second
and someti nes a third or fourth time, until it proves suc-
cessful. When suffering from the eruption, a patient may
not be visited by women or other persons who for any
reason may be considered ^‘unclean” according to the
custom of the country. The indigenous Hindus and many
of the Muhammadans in the Nasirdbdd tahsil consider small-'
pox as a divine visitation and take no precautions.

While the people who live near places where there are
dispensaries have begun to appreciate the advantages
afforded by these institutions and freely visit them, those
living in the remote parts still resort to their own simple
remedies, of which some notice may here be given. In
cases of consumption the remedies are either to-

wrap the patient in the skin of a wolf and to feed him on
donkey’s milk and bread, or to brand him three times on
both sides of the chest. In cases of typhus the*

patient is wrapped in the skin of a freshly slaughtered goaf

Indigenous

Remedies-

M^nkAiL.

Working of
the pice-
packet
system of
sale of
quinine.

Village
sanitation
and water
supply.

238 CHAP. I1I-^ADMIN!STRAT1VE:

or sheep for about sixteen hours at a time, the process being
repeated a second or third time if necessary. If the patient
does not recover he is wrapped in a cow skin, and if this
fails he is wrapped in a donkey skin. The disease is consi’
dered to be infectious and the patient is segregated. In
cases of ague (sdiifaMf charms and spells {hudda) are
resorted to. A charm is recited by a mulla^ and the patient
places a handful of grain in an unused earthen vessel which 1
is buried in the ground. The evil is thus transferred to the
vessel and the man is cured. In cases of malarial fever and
pneumonia, the most common remedy is to wrap the patient
in the skin of a sheep or goat killed fresh for the purpose.

Eye diseases are treated with fresh cow dung or the boiled
yolk of an egg. In cases of dysentery, curds mixed with the
powdered bark of the pomegranate are administered.

The pice-packet system of selling quinine through the
agency of the post office was introduced in 1895. During
the first year, i.e., 1895-6, 2,890 packets were sold, the largest
sale being in the Harnai post office (1,01 1 packets), In
1904-5 the sales had risen to 2,896, of which j, 268 were sold
in Sibi.

Apart from the villages of Khajak, Kurk and Gulu Shahr,
and the bazars at Khost, Shdhrig, Harnai and Spfntangi,
where fees are levied and sweepers are employed, no arrange-
ments, official or private, exist for the sanitation of villages.

The villages are dirty and the litter and filth are allowed to
remain in the houses and streets until they are removed for
manuring the fields. But the migratory habits of the people
and specially of the Marris and Bugtis who never remain long
in one place, assist in sanitation to a great extent, and after
a lapse of time most village sites are changed. There is
also a tendency among the zaminddrs to desert the villages
and build their houses near their fields.

In the highlands the supply of drinking water is drawn
from springs, streams and kdrezes^ while in the plains it is
obtained from canals, nullahs ^ wells, and pools in which rain
water has collected. The wells offer a fairly protected
source of supply, but the open channels, which are
found in the greater part of the District, are, as already «

remarked, especially liable to pollution and infection, and are

SURVEYS.

239

a source of danger in times of epidemics. On the whole the
quality of the water throughout the District is good.

The cantonment and railway at Sibi have been provided
with a piped water supply from the Ndri river at a cost of
Rs. 1515,000 furnisheiby military funds ; and in 1905 the
supply was extended to the town of Sibi.

The Survey Department of the Government of India has
prepared and published maps of the whole District on the
one-eighth, quarter inch and half inch scales. In connection
with the settlement operations a cadastral survey was under-
taken of all irrigated villages and certain khtishkdba tracts in
the Shdhrig tahsil during 1899-1900, partly on the scale of 16
inches to the mile and partly on that of 32 inches. In Sibi,
thdkbast survey on the scale of 16 inches to the mile was
made in 1901 of the irrigated lands belonging to the Sibi,
Kurk and Khajak circles, and a field to field survey, also on
the scale of 16 inches to the mile of the Sdngdn, Talli and
Mai circles as well as of the lands irrigated by flood water
in the circles of Sibi, Kurk and Khajak.

Medical.

Surveys.

CHAPTER l\\

SiBi Sub-
division.

Sibi tahsil.
General de-
scription.

Boundar}' of
tahsil.

Sangdn

valley.

MINIATURE GAZETTEER,

The Sibi sub-division comprises the tahsils of Sibi and
Kohlu, and is in charge of an Extra Assistant Commissioner,
who also exercises political control in the Marri-Bugti country
and over the Dombki and Kahdri tribes in the Lahri nidhat
of the Kaldt State in Kachhi.

The Sibi tahsil, which includes the Sdngdn, Pur, and
Quat-Mandai valleys and the Railway line from Pirak Pir
Takri to Spintangi lies between 29° 21^ and 30** 15' N, and
67" ii' and 68“ 9' E., and has an area of 1,343 square miles.
It is the most northerly portion of the Kachhi plain, from
which it is separated by a ridge of low stony hills.

It is bounded on the north by the Shdhrig tahsil, on the
east by the Marri hills and on the south and west by the
Kaldt State territory.

The Sdngdn valley, which was transferred from the
Shdhrig to the Sibi tahsil in 1895, is bounded on the
north by the Zawarah valley, on the south by the Dddhar
plain, on the east by Bddra valley and on the west by the
Boldn Pass. It is circular in shape, and consists of consider-
able stretches of alluvial soil aifording about 4,500 acres of
arable land ; the remainder is stony and cut up by water
courses.

PHYSICAL ASPECTS.

The Quat-Mandai valley is a continuation of the Bddra sibi.
valley, and is enclosed on all sides by hills. It has an
elevation of about i.ooo feet, and is a well watered plain
with fertile soil. The valley belong-s to the Marris and was
occupied in 1880 in consequence of the Kuchdli raid, when
after General MacGregor’s successful occupation of Kahdn,
the tribesmen tendered their submission and a fine of
ks. 2,00,000 was imposed; of this Rs. 1,25,000 were paid up,

Rs. 25,000 were remitted by Government in consideration of
the destruction of the crops, and the valley of Quat-Mandai
was held as a security for the payment of the balance. At
the same time in consideration of the services rendered by
the Ldngiini Marris both during and after the raid, the Bddra
lands were exempted from payment of revenue during the
life time of Khdn Sdhib Hdji Dur Muhammad, the head of
that section.

The Pur valley is separated from the rest of the tahsil by Pur valley,
the Marri hills, and is about 10 miles in length and about 2
miles in breadth ; it is bounded on the north by the Sialu
hill which separates it from the Thai plain : on the south by
the Mazann, Sarukai, Saraghara and Lakara hills ; on the
east by the Narae or Puzhi hills and on the west by Tanga
and Kada Wata. The valley is intersected by the Shahra-
ghundi hillocks ; the eastern portion being known as Karar
and the western as Palosin, Pitao and Samghali. The soil
is fertile, but there is no supply of permanent irrigation and
the cultivation is entirely dependent on rain.

The Marn hills, the elevations of which vary from 2,071 Hill ranges,
to 2,444, separate the Sibi plain from the Bddra and Quat-
Mandai valleys. The Sdngdn valley is shut in on the south
by Torghar (2,912) ; on the west by Shabdn (5,270) ; and the
Dalujdl (2,333) and Dungdn (6,239) mountains intervene
between Quat-Mandai and the Pur valley, which is separated

from the Thai plain by the Sidlu range (8,113) and Mazarfn

{6,322},

^ The mam drainage of the tahsil is carried off by the Ndri, Drainage
Known as the Bdji in Marri country, and its principal tribu- rivers.
taries are the Kuridk and the Ddda. The Talli , also known

died in January 1906 and the question of the
resumption of the mm!/ is under consideration.

16 , , ,

242 CHAP, IV.— MINIATURE GAZETTEER.

Smi,

Forests®

Climate,
temperature
and rainfall.

History.

as the Gurkh, which drains a considerable portion of the
Marri hills, emerges into the Sibi plain through a narrow
defile called Thank or Gurkh Between Ndri and the Talli
there are several minor torrents which drain the outer range
of hills, the principal being the Arand, Gazi, Chimar, Pogdni,
Churri, Kalgiri, Mai, Maher and Karmdn.

The total area of reserved forests is about 33 square miles
and includes the Dehpdl, Gulu Shahr, Abdul Khdli, Lahri,
Nari Bank, Bhakhra and T! alii reserves, all of which are in
charge of a Deputy Ranger of the Forest Department. The
principal trees are the huiidt i^Pfosopis spici^cTct)^ kuvil
{Capparis aphylla], pilu [Salvadora persica), jhau [Tamarix
indica) and habiU {Acacia arabica).

The average temperature of the Sibi plain in the summer
months rises to 93 and 96*^ Fahr,, while the winter months
have a mean temperature of about 60°. The highest tempera-
ture of the hottest day in summer frequently rises to iio® in
the shade and less frequently to 120°. In normal years the
lowest temperature of the night in winter is a few degrees
below freezing point and the temperature of the winter
days ranges between 40° and 80°. Owing to the deficiency of
rain the heat of the summer is continuous and prolonged.

The rainfall in the Sibi plain is scanty ^ the average for the
fifteen years ending with 1904 being 4-95 inches, of which
1 77 inches fell in the half year ending with 31st of March and
3-18 inches during the second half, the months of July and
August showing 1-26 and 1-05 inches respectively. At Bdbar
Kach (817 feet) the average is 6-09 inches ; and it is some-
what higher at Sdngdn, for which, however, no actual figures
are available.

The early history of the tahsil has been mentioned in
Chapter I under History. The country was first occupied
in 1873, and in 1879 was assigned by the Aniir of Afghd-
nistdn to the British Government by the Treaty of Gandamak.

It foinied part of the charge of the Political Officer at
Jacobdbj^d up to December 1882, when it was transferred to
the fhal-Chotidli District. Sdngdn originally formed part
of the Shdhrig tahsil and was transferred to the Sibi tahsil
in 1895.

The Fur valley originally belonged to the Adwdni Tarins of
Thai, but portions of it gradually passed into the possession

POPULATION,

243

of the Marris and Waiiecliis, and at the present time (1905) Sibi,
the Adwdnis, and Wan^chisown about one-fourth, while the
remainder belongs to the Shah6ja, Chhalgari and Mazardni
sections of the Marris. On the separation of Shahrig from
the Sibi sub-division it was transferred to the Sibi tahsil in
December 1904.

In 1905 the Sibi tahsil, excluding the Quat-Mandai and Population,
Pur valleys, contained i town (Sibi), and 32 villages; and
the total population according to the Census of 1901 was
20,526 '"(males 1 1,719, females 8,807) compared with 13,401
in 1891 , showing an increase of about 53 per cent. Of these
3,598 were Hindus, 16,643 Muhammadans, 83 Christians and
202 others. The number of the Hindus included the local
Hindus who are mostly of the Arora caste and have resided
in the larger villages for several generations. The indi-
genous Muhammadans are of the Sunni sect and numbered
13,928 (males 7,312, females 6,616). The principal races and
tribes are the Panni Afghdns (3,648) ; the Dombki (809) and
Rind (1,138) Baloch ; the Bangulzai (791), Mdngal (357),

Raisdni (147) and Ldngav (246) Brdhuis ; the Jat (4,762),

Khdtrdn (813) and Saiads (273).

The trade of the country is chiefly in the hands of the
Hindus, while the principal occupation of the indigenous
Muhammadans is agriculture.

The dialects spoken are Pashtd, Baluchi, Brdhui and Jatki.

Besides the Sibi town, the principal villages are : Kurk
(2,288) the head quarters of the Bdrdzais, Khajak (2,738),

Talli (1,002), Gulu Shahr, a Nodhdni village {773), Dehpdl
{624), Bhakra Ghuidm Bolak (540), Chdndia (586), Gashkori
(527) and Sangan (846).

The average annual area under irrigated crops is about Agriculture
38,700 acres, which are fairly equally distributed between
the rabi and kharif harvests. The principal dry crop areas
dependent on flood-water and rain are Talli, Mai and the
Pur valleys, the cultivation of which varies in accordance
with the amount of the rainfall. The principal cropt of the
spring harvest are wheat and sarshaf^ and of the autumn
harvest yz/ar and cotton. A rough estimate made in 1904 of
the agricultural stock belonging to the permanent inhabit-
ants puts the number of camels at 1,337, donkeys 526, bul- ■

*' Pur and Quat-Mandai were included in the Marri tribal area.

Sib I.

Communi-

v'ations.

Administra
tive Staff,

Land

Revenue*

244 CHAP, IV. --MINIATURE GAZETTEER.]

locks and cows 4,691, sheep and goats 16,649, and buffaloes
128. The numbers belonging to the nomads were esti-
mated at 4,042 camels, 529 donkeys, 128 cattle, and 14,164
sheep and goats.

The North-Western Railway enters the tahsil near Pirak
Pir Takri, about 7 miles below Sibi. At Sibi the line
branches off into the Mushkdf-Bolan and the Harnai-Shdhrig
sections, about 5 miles ot the former =ind 42 miles ofthe latter
(Sibi to Spintangi), lying in the Sibi tahsil. The principal
roadsleading fromSibiare the Sibi-Harnai-Pishin road and the
Sibi-Rindli-Quetta road. The other important tracks are : —

(1) From Bdbar Kach to Quetta via Sdngdn (83^ miles}.

(2) From Bdbar Kach to Kahdn via Khattan (94 miles),

(3) Three separate tracks from Sibi to Kahdn via Mai,
Talli and Mdwand respectively, the distance in each case
being about 92 miles.

(4) From Sibi to Ldhri (35 miles),

(5) From Sibi to Quat-Mandai by Khajak and Arand
(32 miles) ; and (6) tracks leading from Sibi to the
villages of Gulu Shahr, Kurk, Khajak, and Talli.

The tahsil staff consists of Tahsilddr, a naib tahsilddr, a
muhdsib, 3 kdndngos and 8 patwdris. A munsiff also exer-
cises civil jurisdiction within the limits of the tahsil and has
the powers of a judge of a court of small causes. The
police force employed on district and railway work number-
ed 41 in 1905. The total number of the levies is 180, and
the details of their posts and distribution are given in
table XXII, Vol. B.

The Land Revenue of Sibi is recovered in kind at the rate
of two-ninths of the produce ; in Sdngdn the rate is one-
fourth, half of the produce being paid to the BAtAz 2 ii fdgirddrs ;
in Quat-Mandai it is one-twelfth, an equal amount being
paid to the Marri chief. In the Pur valley the rate is one-sixth.
Grazing tax is hvied in both Sibi and Sdngdn. The annual
average receipts for the years between 1897-8 and 1901-2
were Rs, 99,002, and between 1902-3 and 1904-5 Rs. 81,539,
the decrease being due to unfavourable seasons. The
grazing tax represents from 2 to 4 per cent, of the total
land revenue,

Sangan, a village in the Sibi tahsih situated in 29°
536 N. and 6/ * 39' E., at an elevation of about 1,690 feet

SANGAiV VILLAGE.

245

feet. It is 25 miles from the Bibar Kach station and about
the same distance from the Pishi station on the Mushkif-
Boldn railway, The irrigation is from a stream, which is
divided into three channels known is the Lain or Pirini,
Zhadun and Saudi vialas. The water is divided into 108
shabdnas, of which 35 were originally allotted to the Biriizais
and 73 to aliens. The principal crops are wheat and rice of
an inferior quality. Cumin seed is also collected in the
neighbouring hills in years of good rainfall. Drinking water
is good and abundant and is obtained from the Kamdn
stream and four wells. The hills round Sdngdn furnish good
grazing for both camels and cattle.

The population of the village, which consists of mud huts,
was 846 in igoi (424 males and 422 females], the principal
tribes being the Bdriizai, Ladn, Saudi, Isot, Sharkdn and
Mi'isakhel. The leading men among the Bdri'izai are Tdj
Muhammad Khdn, Mehrdb Khdn and Rahmdil Khdn. The
village contains six shops, three guest houses, a masjid, a
primary school, a small levy post, a patimr khdna and a
small rest house for revenue officials.

Local tradition asserts that the country originally belong-
ed to the Zamands, who were ousted by the Panni Afghdns
under Husain. Bdrii, the grandson of Husain, was the
founder of the Bdrdzai clan and the ancestor of the ruling
family which now holds Sdngdn. The fort and village were
built by Ismdll Khdn, son of Mohabat Khdn and sixth in
descent from Husain. Ismdil Khdn accompanied Ahmad
Shdh, Abddli, to the Punjab and was given the title of
Nawdb and granted the Sdngdn valley as a jdgir. In the
time of Muhammad Azim, fourth in descent from Ismdil
Khdn, the power of the Bdrdzai began to wane and the Marris
seized Quat-Mandai and Bddra ; they also closed the cara-
van routes, and the valley was being gradually depopulated
when the district was first occupied by the British in 1878.
Zulfikdr Khdn, Hazdr Khdn and Ghdfdr Khdn, the sons of
Muhammad Azim, divided the property into three shares
(yhwj), which are now known as the jams of Tdj Muham-
mad Khdn, Rahmdil Khdn and Mehrdb Khdn (1905).

Sibi Town (Siwi), the head quarters of the district, is
situated between 29° 33' N. and 67° 53' E. and is 88 miles
from Quetta and 448 miles from Kardchi. It is a place of

246 CHAP. 1 V.--MINIATURE GAZETTEER.

considerable antiquity, and according to local tradition derives
its name fro n Sewi, a Hindu princess of the S6wa race, who
ruled over this part of the country prior to the era of the
Muhammadans’ invasions. Owing to its exposed position
between the mouths of the Boldn and Harnai passes it has
suffered from constant sieges, including an assault by the
British in 1841.

The present town was built after the second occupa-
tion of 1878, and in its early days was known as Sande-
manfibad. The ground on which it stands was at one time a
jdgir of the Bdriizai chiets of Sibi and was called the hdghdt
or garden lands ; these have now been assigned to the muni-
cipality.

In 1886 the population was estimated at about 5,000, and
there were some 800 shops and 1,000 houses. After the
withdrawal of the troops and the completion of the railway
works the prosperity of the town declined, and in 1891 the
number of its inhabitants had decreased to about 2,900.
The town has since regained some of its former prosperity,
and at the time of the census of 1901 the population was
4,551 (males 3,166 and females 1,385).

Sibi is the winter head quarters of the local Government,
and of the Political Agent of the District. The Shdhi Jirga
also assembles at Sibi during the winter months and the
proceedings. are usually terminated by a public darbdr held
by the Agent to the Governor-General. The annual Horse
Show is held about the same time. The most important
building is the Victoria Memorial Hall, which was erected by
public subscription in 1903, and in which the sittings of the
Shdhi Jirga are held. In addition to the Government offices
and quarters for officials the other principal buildings are the
Dispensary, Barnes School (for boys), Girls’ School, Gais-
ford Library, Mclvor Zendna Hospital for women, Victoria
Serdi, two majids and two Eharmsdlas. The Cantonments
are situated in the north-west corner of the town near the
old fort. There are also extensive railway buildings, includ-
ing workshops and quarters.

In 1904 the imports by rail amounted to 69,493 maunds
and included piece-goods, grain, firewood, oils, ghi^ tea,
sugar and iron ; the exports were 158,025 maunds, the chief
items being grain, wool, potash, salt and straw.

KOHLU TAHSIL.

247

The supply of drinking water was formerly brought from sibi.
the Nciri River in open" channels and collected in tanks. In

1904 a piped supply of water for the Mobilization Camp and
Railway was completed at a cost of Rs. 1,15,000, and in

1905 the scheme was extended to the Sibi town at an addi-
tional cost of Rs. 6,800.

The revenue of the municipal funds, which are chiefly
derived from octroi and conservancy cesses, amounted in
1904-=; to Rs. 24,166 and the expenditure to Rs. 21,866.

The Kohlll tahsil lies in the north-eastern part of the Dis- Kohlu
trict between 29° 4'^^ and ' 3 o° 2' N, and 68° and 6g° 32' E. Tahsil.
It is a triangular plateau with an area of 362 square miles scription.
and about 3,900 feet above sea level. The general lie is
east and west, the apex of the triangle being to the east and
terminating at the Han Pass. The length of the tahsil frcm
east to west is about 40 miles and the breadth at the base
of the triangle on the west about 18 miles. It is bounded on
the north by the Suwran hills which separate it from the
Duki plain, on the south and east by the Jandrdn range and
the Nikra hills which divide it from the Bdrkhdn tahsil of the
Loralai District, and on the west by the Koh-i-Sarad moun-
tains which form the boundary between it and the Marri
country. The length of the Kohlu plain itself is about 25
miles and the greatest breadth about 10 miles. The soil of
the plain is chiefly alluvial, but in many places the ground is
salt [kallar). The tahsil is enclosed on all sides by hills ;
the Tikhei range (6,881) lying to the north, Batur (5,745) to
the west ; the Jandrdn range (6,727) with Mdr to the south
and Bibartak (6,285) east. These hills are mostly

barren, but in the Tikhei and Jandrdn ranges there are
patches of cultivation, the principal being the Girsani,

Nisoba and Phardhi valleys.

The best known passes, commencing from the east, are the
Bibartak, Mar, Wanga (4,145), Narial (4,430), Mezhlidr,

Sinni, Ormazhi or Bar (4,850) and Kuba Wanga (4,896).

The general lie of drainage of the valley is from east to
west and there are several mountain torrents, the principal
of which is the Lahri, known by the Marris as the S^nr, which
traverses the valley from east to west. The other bigger
streams are the Bor, which rises in the Phardhi tract ; the
Rod Bdladhdka, which rises in the Garmor hills and joins

24S CHAP. IV.— MINIATURE GAZETTEER.

Kohlu.

Forests.

Climate,
temperature
and rainfall.

Histor3^

the Narechi ; and the Rod Barg-. The Senr has a small
supply of perennial water near Nikra and also in its ivestern
portion below Kote Shahr,

There are no reserved forests in the tahsil. The principal
trees are the Pistacia khanjak, Acacia imdesia, the wild olive,
{Olea cuspidata), and wild pomegranates in the hills ; and
the bir (sisyphus), tamarisk {Tamarix indica), kirar {Cap-
pans aphylla), pihi {Salvadora persica) in the plains. The
dwarf palm {Nannorhops Richieatia,) is also found in most
of the ravines.

No records have been kept either of the temperature or
ot the rainfall, but the climate of the plateau is intermediate
between the extremes of the plains and the high lands. The
rainfall appears to be somewhat higher than the average
owing to the proximity of the hills.

The district appears in earlier times to have been inhabited
by the BuI 4 di Baloch, who deserted it about 300 years
ag-o, when it was occupied by the present inhabitants, the
Zarkiins, who were originally a branch of the Mdsakhel
Atghdns. About 100 years ago the Hasnis, who had been
ousted from Pheldwag by the Marris, attempted unsuccess-
rully to wrest Kohlu from the Zarkuns. In 1876, a party
of Masori Bugtis invaded Kohlu to revenge the death of
some of their tribesmen killed during a raid but were re-
pu sed with loss. The Bugtis thereupon decided to make
another expedition, and the Marris, who appear to have
omented the strife, gave a passage through their country to
a large Bugti force, consisting of almost all the tribal war-
riors led by their chiefs. The Zarkiins were outnumbered,
l^eir pillages were sacked and 70 of their tribesmen killed,
he Zarkiins then deserted the district, but were persuaded
o return by the Marris, who offered them an offensive and
aetensive alliance against the Bugtis. In 1878 the Marris,
Who had already acquired Gamboli and Mdwand, partitioned
the Kohlu valley into four shares, which were divided
among the three principal Marri clans and the Zarkiins,
e ormer obtaining three shares and the latter one share,
^cording to this division, the Ghazni Marris obtained Arwa
wanga, Pusht, Mar, and Bhar ; the Lohardnis, Naridl,’

Sh nu T Zarkiins

S , Bhar, Zidrat and Sonn in equal shares. Thus the

THE MURANJ SETTLEMENT

249

Zarkims became practically incorporated with the Bijardni kohlu.
Marris. Gulu Gozu was allotted to the Marri chief,

Melirulla Kh^n, as his or Sarddr’s share. The Zar-

kiitts were also permitted to retain the land within a radius
of a mile round their villages of Oridni, Malikzai and Shirdni,
to levy sung in these villages and to tax the Hindus.

In 1891 the Zarkdns petitioned against the encroachments The Muraoj
of the Marris and asked to be taken under British protec- '
tion. The case was taken up by Major C. E. Yate, C.S.L,

C. M.Gm Then Political Agent of the District, and with the
consent of both Marris and Zarkdns was referred to a Jt/'ga
of the Baloch and Punjab Chiefs which assembled at Muranj
in January 1892. The terms of their decision,, which were
accepted by both parties and approved of by the Agent to
the Governor-General, were (i) that the British Government
should take possession of the Kohlu valley and levy revenue
at the usual rate of one-sixth of the produce ; (2) that the
original given to the Marris by Sir Robert Sandeman

on the 24th of August 1878 should be renewed ; (3) that
one-half of the revenue assessed on the land in the Kohlu
valley belonging to the Marris should be considered as a
grant to the Marri chief and headmen and be divided among
them in shares to be fixed hereafter ; (4) that Government
should levy grazing tax within the limits of Kohlu, but
that only half rates should be levied from the Marris ; (5)
that revenue should be levied in kind and not in cash,
and (6) that an additional levy service of Rs. 195 a month
should be given to the Marris and of Rs. 130 a month to
the Zarkdns,

In May 1892 a sub-tahsii was established at Kohlu, the
income being treated as a part of the Zhob Revenues. The
sub-tabsii was abolished in 1895, but was again established
in October 1897. 1898 the ndib tahsilddr in charge was

vested with the powers of a Magistrate of the 2nd class and
with those of a Munsiff in 1902,

The internal distribution of the grants remitted to the
Marris by the Muranj Settlement was determined by a Marri
jzrga at Fort Munro in September 1892, when it was agreed
(i) that all remissions given on lands purchased from the
Zarkfins should be the right of the actual owners, whether
they were headmen or tribesmen ; but that each owner

250

CHAP. IV:— MINIATURE GAZETTEER.

j 'i I

1 If*

!' *

f%|

Kom.v. should pay a fixed''^ share of grain at each spring harvest to the
Marri chief as sarddri allowance ; (2) that the remissions on
lands given by the Zarki'ins to the Marris, and known as
?nims, should form the exclusive right of the Marri chief ;
and (3) each headman should give 3 chhattis or 18 maunds
of grain annually to Mir Hazdr Khdn, Ghaznij the hereditary
wiizir of the Marris, who was also to receive one-fifth of the
allowance given to the chief,

popiilatinn. According to the census of 1901 the total population of
I'lie tahsil was 1,081 (males 594 and females 487). To this
should be adde 772 Marris who were included in the popu-
lation of Uie ^•arri country. The principal tribes were the
the Zarkiin Afghans (751), Marris (772) and Kh6trdns (145).
There were also 21 local Hindus.

The head-quarters bear the same name as the tahsil, and
the buildings are situated in the middle of the plain near the
village of Azdd Shahr. The tahsil buildings include a com-
bined Post and Telegraph Office, a small rest-house and a
primary school. There are 23 villages (including hamlets),
the largest of which are Azdd Shahr (261 inhabitants)* Malik-
zai (207), Oridni (258) and Karam Khfin Shahr (253). The
chief occupation of the inhabitants is agriculture, but the
Marris also combine flock-owning.

Agriciiltiir e. The permanent sources of water comprise 3 small streams,
7 springs and 5 kdre^es which irrigate about 3 per cent, of
the total area cultivated in each year. The rest of the cul-
tivation depends on rain and on flood water from the hills
which is collected by a series of embankments. The rahi ot
spring harvest is the most important, and the chief crop is
wheat which forms the staple food of the people of the coun-
try. The autumn harvest is comparatively small and consists
f chiefly o\ jiidr with a small amount of millets, fiztmg and bdjrt,

A rough estimate made in 1904 of the agricultural stock of
the tahsil puts the number of camels at about 640, donkeys
8co, cattle 1,980, sheep and goats 32,300.

From Bdbar Kach on the Railway line an iinmetalled road
leads via Mamand to Kohlu (distance 120 miles). This road
mainly by famine labour in 1905 and is good
as to follow the beds of rivers. Kohlu is

shAhrig tahsil.

251

also connected with Bdrkhdn (distance 22 miles) by a Koi-n.u.
g-ood unmetalled road which runs over the Bibartak Pass, and
with Gumbaz (31 miles) by another road over the Suwran
hills. Both roads are in good repair (1905). There are also
tracks (i) to Vitdkri (about 28 miles) by the Mdr pass (2) to
Bdladhdka (about 17 miles) on the Gumbaz Bdrkhdn road
through Kuba Wanga ; (3) to Bdladhdka via Tirkha j (4) to
Kahdn (about 65 miles) via Rabi Wanga, Fazal Che! and
Dojumbaktak ; (5) to Pazha (42 miles) in the Duki tahsil by
the Girsin Wad pass and (6) to Hosri (about 22 miles) in the
Duki tahsil via Laharkhi.

The tahsil is divided into the two circles of Oridni and Admim^ra'

live Hi'cirt,

Kote Shahr, and the administrative staff consists of a naib
tahsilddr, a muhdsih and two paiwdris. There are also 27
levies and 9 policemen.

Land Revenue is recovered in kind at the rate of one-sixth Land
of the gross produce, except on those lands which were in
the possession of the Marris before the Muranj settlement
and which pay one-twelfth. Grazing tax is levied at half
rates from Marris and at full rates from Zarkfins. As almost
ail the cultivation of the tahsil depends on rain the revenue
is subject to considerable fluctuations. The average annual
income between 1897-8 and 190 1-2 was Rs. 8,908, and in
1904-5 it amounted to Rs. 12,122, of which grazing tax con-
tributed Rs. 3,140.

The Shahrig sub-division and tahsil lies in the north-
western part of the District between 29“ 49' and 30"^ 37' N, General
and 67' 14' and 68" 22' E and has an area of 1,595 square description,
miles. It is bounded on the north by the Pishin, Bori and
Hindubdgh tahsils ; on the south by the Marri country and
the Sibi tahsil ; on the east by the Sanjdwi and Duki tahsils
and on the west by the Sibl and the Quetta tahsils.

The tahsil is divided into two well defined portions,
namely, the hilly country to the north and west which is
known as the Khurdsdn and is inhabited by the Ddmar,

Pdn^zai, and Sdrangzai Kdkars ; and the Zawarah or Harnai
valley.

The larger valleys in the Kdkar country are Kach, Kowas,

Zidrat and Manra, and the principal hill ranges are Bebai
(6,55 lOs Sdrghimd (10,690'), Ghwanza ( 8 , 88 o 0 , Kasa (i I, io 50 j
P dn and Khalifat (11,440').

Sbahrig.

Rivers.

Forests.

Climate,
temperature
and rainfall.

252 CHAP. IV.---MINIATURE GAZETTEER.

The Zawarah valley extends from the Chappar mountain
to the Spintang-i or Gan rift with a length of about 56
miles and an average breadth of 6 miles. It rises gradually
from an elevation of 1,800 feet at Spintangi to 4^764 feet at
Dirgi, and has been described as consisting of long
narrow^ broken bottom, in many places intersected by ravines,
but here and there smoothed out into a level plateau of
limited extent, these plateaus being clothed with a fairly rich
arable soil ; in other places its basin is stony and harsh, but
covered with low brush«wood of dwarf palm trees and with
coarse grasses.”'" It is bounded on the north by the Khalifat
iiioimtain and the Pdn range and on the south by a range of
the Brahiiic mountains locally known as Gulu Shah. The
north-eastern extremity is closed by the Pll and Chappar hills,
which are cleft by narrow and difficult gorges.

The lie of the drainage is in a general southerly direction
and the principal streams are the Mdiigi, Shfihrig, Harnai or
Dada and the Kuriak, which are fed by numerous small hill
torrents and eventually join the Nari which forces its way
into the Sibi plains through the Nari Gorge. The Mdngi,
Harnai and Kurifik streams have a perennial supply of water.

The reserved juniper forests are Pil (1,28c acres), Shahidfin
(2,500 acres), Zargat (2,760 acres), Gohar (1,500 acres), Kach-
Mfingi (9,400 acres), Tor Shor (11,000 acres) Sdrghund (7,5( o
acres) and Batsargi (7,680 acres), making a total of 68 square
miles. The olive and shisham reserves at Wdm Tangi and
Wdm Kach comprise about 5-4 square miles.

The climate varies with the altitude which ranges from
j,8oofeetat Spintangi to over 8,000 feet at Zidrat. The
only place in the tahsll wl ere temperature is recorded is
Shdhrig (3,963 feet), which shows a mean average of 88°
during the summer and 46° in the winter, Many parts of the
Zawarah valley, and especially the circles of Shdhrig and
Harnai, are extremely unhealthy and malarious during the
autumn, owing probably to the large amount of rice cultiva-
tion and the swarms of mosquitoes which are bred in the
swamps. The permanent inhabitants of the valley compare
unfavourably in physique with the Pathdns of Quetta and the
hills. The people divide the year into the following parts :
.ijo days beginning about the 20th of August, sdwri 40

* Dr. Duke's Report on the Haruai and ThaUChoiidli Districts (1883).

POPULATION, ETC.

clays, mmai loo days, cimrmim 40 days, dohae days, altar Shahrig.

40 days and wasa or the rainy season 60 days.

The aver tge rainfall of the valley is higfher than in other
parts of the District, being* ii^ inches at Shdhrig and irob
inches at Kach. The heaviest rain occurs in the months cT
January, February and March, and July and August.

The history of the District is given in Chapter 1 . The History.
Kach-Hamaddn and Kowds valleys originally formed part
of the Pishio District, but were transferred to Thal-Chotiali
in i88i. Pur, which formed part of the Duki tahsil, v as
transferred to Shdhrig in 1897 and to Si hi in 1904.

The tahsil contains 93 villages, and the total population Population,
according to the census of 1901 was 16,573 (9,421 males,

7, 152 females) or about 10 persons to a square mile. Of
these 15,583 were Muhammadans, 777 Hindu- and 39 Chris-
tians. The indigenous inhabitants who are Musalmdns of
the sunni sect and speak Pashtd, numbered 14,111 (males
7,428 and females 6,683). The Wanechis speak a modified
form of Pashtd known as the Tarinao or Chhalgari dialect.

The principal tribes were the Sanzarkhdl Kdkars i,535»

Sanatia Kdkars 4,967, Tarins 6,404 (including 1,248 Wane-
chis and 4,525 Makhidnis) and 1,053 Saiads.

Shahrig* (population 325) is the head quarter station of
the tahsil ; it is connected by rail with Sibi (74 miles) and
Quetta (8i miles) and has a small bazar, post and telegraph
offices, a rest-house, a railway dispensary and a primary
school. The larger villages in the tahsil are : Kach, Ahma-
ddn or Hamaddn (670), Kowas or Khowas (878), Zandra
(615), Miankach (109), Harnai (252) and Khost (1,377).

Among the indigenous inhabitants the principal occupation
is agriculture combined with fiockowning.

• Except for a few circles which lie in the hills the quality Agriculture,
of the land in the tahsil is fairly uniform. The land avail-
able for cultivation is limited, while the supply of water is
generally (and in the Harnai and Bdbihdn circles invariably)
more than sufficient for the land. The people are perpetually
occupied in maintaining and improving the quality of their
lands and manage to cultivate a greater portion twice in the
year, or three times in two years. The permanent sources of
irrigation are 13 streams, 14 kdreses and 144 springs. The
irrigable area is about 10,000 acres, the dry crop cultivation

254 CHAP. IV.— MINIATURE GAZETTEER

Shahrig representing about 23 per cent, of the total cultivated area.

Wheat is the principal crop of the rahi harvest and rice and
makai of the harvest. A rough estimate made in 1904

of the agricultural stock of the tahsil puts the number of
camels at 100, donkeys 923, bullocks and cows 5,020, and

Miscel-

laneous.

Communi'

cations.

Administra'
tive staff.

Land

revenue.

sheep and goats 44,690.

The Sind-Pishin section of the North-Western Railway
traverses the tahsil from Spintangi to Kach KotaL The
important roads are shown in detail in table XI, Volume B,
and include the Sibi-Quetta road ; Haroai-Loralai road ;
the Quetta-Zidrat and Smailan road ; and the Spintangi-
Sdmbar-Duki road. Other important tracks are (1) Ahmaddn
to Pishin, (2) Ahmadfin to Kanr through the Gogi Tangi, (3)
Mdngi to Zidrat by Kdsim Tangi (21 miles), (4) Sunari to
Warikha (24 miles) and thence to Duki, and (5) footpaths
also lead from Shdhrig to Zidrat by Wuch x^ghbargi and
Domiara {22 miles) ; from Shdhrig to Sdngdn ; from Zarddlu
to Quetta by the Uzhda Psha pass (44 miles) ; from Zandra
to Sanjdwi by Manra, Ghunz and Pdi (61 miles) ; from
Kowds to Hindubdgh via Spdrardgha and the Kaldt
Pir Tangi (41 miles) ; and from Spintangi to Pdi (21
miles).

The tahsil is divided into five circles ; Kach, Kowds,
Shdhrig, Harnai and Bdbihan. The Assistant Political
Agent is in charge of the Sub-division, and the tahsil staff
consists of a tahsildar, a ndib tahsilddr, a muhdsib^ two
kdmingos and five patwdris. The number of the police and
levies located in the tahsil are 70 and 176 respectively.
There are 170 village headmen.

A cash assessment fixed for ten years from 1902 has been
introduced on irrigated areas, and revenue in kind is taken
on unirrigated lands at the rate of one-sixth of the total
produce. The incidence per acre of irrigable area varies
from a maximum of Rs. 2-14-11 to a minimum of Rs. 2-2-6.
Between 1897-8 and 190 1-2 the average annual land
revenue, including grazing tax and tax on water mills, was
Rs. 30,294. In 1904-5 it amounted to Rs. 27,332, to which
grazing tax contributed Rs. 5,369.

Coal is worked at Khost, and the minor products are
cumin seed [sira)y hyssop (pufa), asafoetida {hmg) and the
dwarf palm {pish)*

HARNAI AND EACH.

355

Harnai is a station on the Sind-Pishin section of the Shahrig.
North-Western Railway 58 miles from Sibi and 97 miles
from Quetta. It is situated in the Zawarah valley between
30” 6^ N and 67® 56^ E., at an elevation of 3,000 feet and is
the forwarding station for Loralai and Fort Sandeman. A
cart road takes off to Loralai (55I- miles) and Fort Sandeman
(167I- miles) with branches from Smallan (Sanjdwi) to
Quetta via Zidrat (102 miles) and to Duki (22 miles). A
regular service of tum-tums plies between Harnai and Lora-
lai, the rate of hire being Rs. 14. Camels are the principal
means of transport and can be obtained from the Govern-
ment contractor at Harnai. There is a police thdria (12
men), a levy post (13 men), combined telegraph and post
office, Political rest-house, ddk bungalow, and a seraz. The
water-supply, which is good and abundant, is obtained from
the Harnai stream and springs ; there are also five wells.

Octroi and conservancy cesses are levied in the bazar and a
small sanitary establishment is maintained. There are
seventeen shops. The imports by rail in 1904 amounted to
62,900 maunds, consisting chiefly of stores for Loralai and
Fort Sandeman, and the exports to about 20,470 maunds,
which included grain, wool and bkusa.

The villages in the neighbourhood are inhabited chiefly
by the Makhidni Spin Tarins. These Tarins are supposed
to have first occupied the valley in the fourteenth century,
but there is no authentic information regarding the earlier
inhabitants. According to local traditions these were Hin-
dus, and the name of Harnai is said to be derived from one
Harnam Dds, a Hindu ruler of the place. In the beginning
of the nineteenth century Mir Mustafa Khdn, the Brdhui
governor of Kachhi and the brother of Mir Mahmdd Khan I,

Khin of Kalat, is described by Muhammad Sadik as
having made expeditions into Kdkaristdn and given over the
country to be plundered by his troops. During one of these
expeditions he captured and destroyed the fort at Harnai.

Kach or Kachh, a station on the Sind-Pishin section
of the North- Western Railway, lies between 30'’ 26' N. and
6f 18^ E., at an elevation of about 5,900 feet above the sea.

It is 1 10 miles by rail and i

256 CHAP. IV-— MINIATURE GAZETTEER.

connected by a cart road with Zidrat (32! miles). There is
a rest-house close to the station, where a khdnsdma is
maintained from May to September. The goods traffic is
chiefly connected with Zidrat, the imports being about
19,000 maiinds and exports about 3,600 maunds in the
year.

The Kach post lies about a mile and a half south of the
station on a gravelly flat opposite the gap, through which the
Akhtamar stream escapes into the Mdngi valley. It was
held by regular troops up to July 1890, when it was handed
over to the levies. The levies, who are chiefly Pdodzai
Kakars, consist of one resaldar, one jemaddr, 3 diiffaddrs, 8
sowars, 1 1 footmen and one munshi.

On the 1 6th of August iSSo, a large body of Pdndzai Kdkars,
led by Faiz Muhammad and Hakim Khdn and reinforced by
a strong contingent of Zhob Kdkars under Shdhjalian
Jogizai, attacked the post, which was then held by a
detachment of 300 men of the i6th Bombay Infantry under
Colonel T, W. Pierce. The attack w^as repulsed after three
hours’ fighting, during which the enemy lost about 200
killed and wounded. On the i8th the garrison, being
reinforced by a body of cavalry under Major Mosley of the
Baloch Gutdes, moved out against the villages of Kach and
Ahpiadfin, which were occupied and burnt.

The Kach village is situated on the right bank of the
Akhtamar stream, about 3 miles to the north-east of the
Kach post. The inhabitants number about 155 persons
(males 85 and. females 70) and belong to the Pdndzai and
Isakhel Kdkars. This village, which with Ahmaddn and
Kowds formerly formed part of Pishin under the Afghan
rule, was transferred to the Shdhrig tahsil in 1881.

Kowas, a village in the Siidhrig tahsil between 29® if N.
and 68° 56' E., is situated on the Kach-Zidrat road, 22 miles
from the Kach railway station. In former days it formed one
of the stages on the main caravan route between India and
Persia, and was visited in 1614 by Messrs. Richard Steel and
John Crowther, two merchants in the service of the East
Indian Society, who have, however, recorded no information
regarding it beyond that they were compelled to pay a heavy
tax on their camels. It was thus described in 1880 by
Colonel Sir Oliver St. John : It is a flourishing village of

kowAs and khost.

about 200 houses, built on a small rising ground ; there is
no regular rampart to the town, but the outer walls of the
houses are built touching each other without exterior
openings of any sort in the whole enceinte save four small
posterns, and thus form a continuous barrier. The material
used is rubble stone in mud, and the roofs are flat

^ For a space of seven or eight miles and for
a breadth varying from a mile to a hundred yards, the cul-
turable land was, at the time we passed through it, one sheet
of ripe corn dotted with mulberry, willow and apricot trees,
forming a scene of rustic beauty and fertility rare in this
country. The flelds are interraces, the faces of which are
carefully rivetted with stone ; the river is kept within bounds
by well constructed spurs of timber and brushwood, the
water is economically distributed, and the channels clean and
in good repair. In short the whole place bears unmistake-
able signs of considerable prosperity and of more careful
husbandry than I have seen anywhere in Afghdnistdn, save
in the immediate neighbourhood of Kandahdr.’-"^^ At the
present time there is a general tendency among the in-
habitants to desert the village and build their houses on the
borders of the fields ; the cultivation also has greatly
increased, and potatoes, melons and tobacco have been
introduced with considerable success.

The population in 1901 was 878 (males 442 and females
436), the principal tribes being the Spin Tarin, Pdnezai
Kdkars, Saiads, and a few Brdhuis.

The patron saint of the town is Mian Shadi, whose
shrine is close to the village and who is credited with having
destroyed the old town of Kowds by an earthquake.

Khost, a station on the Sind-Pishin section of the North-
Western Railway in the Shdhrig tahsil lies between 30° 13' N,
and 67''35'E, at an elevation of 4,119. It is 9 miles from
Shdhrig, 83 from Sibi and 73 from Quetta; and derives its
sole importance from the colliery works in the vicinity. It
is the head-quarters of the Mining Manager and has a small
but thriving bazar of some thirty shops. There is also a
Railway Hospital, and police and levy posts. The popula-
tion of the bazar in 1901 was 99, and ordinarily about 1,200

Historical and Descriptive Report on the District of 2 hal~
Choiidli mnd Harnai by Dr. O. T. Duke (Gaicutta, 1883), page 82.

Shah RIG.

2s8 chap, iv.^miniature gazetteer.

Shahrig. men are regularly employed in the collieries. The Khost
village has a population of 254, chiefly KhamiSj Tdraii and
Sanzarkh^i Kdkars.

Spintaogi, which is known by the Baloch as Gcinr6ji is a
station on the Sind-Pishin section of the North-Western
Railway, and derives its name from the white {spm) rift
through which the stream forces its way. It lies
between 29° 52^ N, and 68° 8' E, at an elevation of 1,800 feet ;
and is the forwarding market for Duki, Kohlu, M^^htar,
Bdrkhdn and the north-western portion of the Marri country.
The imports in 1906 amount to about 17,240 maunds, chiefly
piece-goods, rice and sugar and the exports to about 18,500
maunds which are principally made up of wheat and wool.
It is connected with the Thai valley by a road which passes
through the S6mbar Pass.

Ziarat, a sanitarium and the provincial summer head-
quarters of the Baluchistdn Agency is situated in 30“ 23' N,
and 67° 5PE, at an elevation of about 8,050 feet above the
sea. It lies in the Shdhrig tahsil of the Sibi District and is
the residence of the Political Agent from May to October.
Zidrat is most easily reached from Kach station by a cart
road (32I miles) which is provided with ddk bungalow’s at
Kach and Kdnr. It is also connected with Loralai (59!
miles) by a cart road running through Karbi Kach, Chautdr,
Wani and Smallan, There is a good bridle path to the
Maiigi Railway station (21 miles) through the Kdsim Tangi.
Hill paths also lead to Shdhrig (22 miles) by the Wuch
Aghbargai Kotal and the Domidra hill.

The local name of the place is Gwashki or Koshgi, which
was changed in 1886 to Zidrat after the neighbouring shrine
of Midn Abdul Hakim. It was first visited and selected as
a sanitarium in 1883. The Residency was built in 1890*91,
and the land (about 81 acres) on w'hich the station is built
and the water were purchased in 1895 from the Sdrangzais
for Rs. 14,000.

A pipe water supply was provided in 1898-9 at a cost of
Rs. 38,000, A summer camp for the European troops sta-
tioned at Quetta was first formed at Ziarat in 1885, but the
experiment w-as afterwards abandoned until 1903, when the
camp was again established. The camp is situated on a spur
(Ambdr Zawar) of the Batsargi hill to the north of the station.

nasIrAbAd.

259

The climate during the short summer is delightful and the Shahrig.
air is bracing. The hill-sides are covered with juniper and

huge gorges and defiles constitute a feature of the scenery.

In addition to the Residency the principal buildings con-
sist of houses for ofificials, Government offices, a d^k bunga-
low, post and telegraph office and a dispensary. The
sanitation is provided for by the Zidrat Improvement Fund,
which is a branch of the Shdhrig Bazar Fund and of which
the revenue in 1904-05 amounted to Rs. 4,320 and the ex-
penditure to Rs. 3,161. The place is practically deserted
during the winter owing to the severe cold and heavy snow.

The Nasirabad sub«division includes the Nasirdbdd tahsfl nasirabad
and the Railway line from Jbatpat to Mithri. It lies between Sub-division
28*^40' N, and 67"' 40' and 69^ 20' E, and has an OeneTa/^®”'*
area of 852 square miles. The tahsil which is situated on description,
the northern and western borders of the Jacobdbad or Upper
Sind Frontier District of Sind, is a narrow strip of country,
running east and west for a distance of about 104 miles
and varying in breadth from i to 12 miles. In its extreme
eastern corner is the L 6 m Tower, which forms the tri-
junction of the Sind, Baluchistdn and Punjab boundaries,
and on the north it is bounded by the Bugti country and
the Kaldt State. Its physical aspects resemble those of the
Kachhi province of the Kaldt State, and the chief character-
istics are its canals, its dead level surface, excessive heat
during the summer and scanty rainfall. The soil is chiefly
alluvial and very fertile if irrigation can be brought to bear
on it.

It depends for its cultivation on the Begdri and Desert
canals of the Sind system. A few hill torrents, which occa-
sionally bring down flood-water, enter the tahsil on the north
from the Bugti country, but are lost in the sand hills before
they proceed any distance, the principal being the Gorandri
Nilagh, Phanydn, Ghari Manak, Dingrizo, Bari, Kabula and
Bdgh.

There are no reserved forests. The commoner trees and Forests,
bushes are the &addl {Acacia a? ah wa)y Mr ar (Capparis
aphylla)^ kaadi [Pfosopis spicigeraA h 4 r {ZiByphus)^ wan or
khabbar {Salvadora oleoides)^ gbaz (Tamarix indica)^ ak
(CaMtropis giganiea) a.nd lana. There are also a few tahri
{Dalbergia sissu) nmt(Amdirachia),

26 o chap, IV.— miniature GAZETTEER,

Nasirabad.

Climate,
temperature
and rainfall.

History.

The climate resembles that of the Upper Sind Frontiei-j
which has been described “ as being perhaps the driest in
the world, and as showing at times very remarkable varia-
tions in temperature.” There are only two marked seasons,
the hot and the cold, the first extending from May to
September, and the other from October to April. The tem-
perature during the months of i^pril and October is, however,
very uncertain. From November to March the climate is
temperate and enjoyable ; but during December and January
the cold is frequently great, the thermometer sometimes
indicating as low a temperature as 27°. The greatest heat
is experienced in the months of June, July and August.
The mean monthly temperature of the “cold ” season ranges
from 58° to and that of the “ hot ” season from 80^ to
102°. The following figures recorded at Jacobabdd show
the temperature at various times of the year : —

Date.

1901

Morning.

After-

noon.

1902

Morning.

After-

noon.

bi)

S »

After-

noon.

ist January

47* '

65-

43'8

77'

40*8

75*6

I St April

79*3

103*2

8i*8

^05*4

, 69-9

86*4

I^^t July

91-

1 14*2

88-9

109*

loS'S

ist October ...

83-5

108*2

79-8

103*7

j 95’

1 1 r2

The rainfall is small and varies from 3 to 5 inches.

The earlier history of the revenue and administrative
arrangements of Nasirdbdd has been given in Chapter III.
The revenue administration was at first in the hands of the
Political Agent of Jacobabdd, but in 1877 when the baiuchi-
stdn Agency was created, it was transferred to this province.
The management then alternated between Political Agents
of Southern Baluchistdn and Kaldt until 1895, when it was
finally handed over to the former. In 1883 a tahsildir was
appointed, together with a staff of nine tapaddrs
and a supervisor. The revenue administration was intri-
cate ; the irrigation was entirely in the hands of the Sind
officials, while the revenue was assessed by the ta'isilddr and
collected by the KhdiPs Ndib. Thus the latter was unable

POPULATION AND VILLAGES. 261

to interfere in fixing the demand, for the collection of which
he was solely responsible; while the tahsilddr had the
responsibility of assessing the revenue, but had no authoiity
to enforce his assessments^ In practice it was found extreme-
ly difficult to define the limits of their respective jurisdictions,
and the evils resulting from this system of dual control were
still greater in civil and criminal matters than in questions
of revenue pure and simple. In order to terminate this ano-
malous and unsatisfactory condition of affairs, His Highness
the Khdn made over the management of the Nasirabad ma-
lai in perpetuity to the British Government for an annual
payment of Rs, 1,15,000. The lower portions of the Man-
ji'ithi lands were at the same time handed over on the pay-
ment of an additional sum of Rs. 2,500 per annum.

A copy of the agreement, which is dated the 17th of Feb-
ruary 1903 and which was ratified by the Viceroy on the 14th
of May 1903, is attached as Appendix V,

In October 1903 the Southern Baluchistan Agency was
abolished, and the Ndsirabdd nidbat^ together with the charge
of the lailway line from Jhatpat to Mithri, formed into a
separate sub-division and attached to the new Sibi District.

The tahsil has 90 villages ; and the total population accord-
ing to the census of 1901 was 35,713 (males 19,885, females
15,828), or 42 persons to the square mile. Of the totalf
33,525 were Muhammadans and 2,173 Hindus, the former
belonging to the Sunni sect. The dialects spoken are the
Sindi, Jatki and Baluchi. The principal tribes represented
were Rind 8,8c6 (including Chdndia 505, Jamdli 3,088,
Khosa 3,338, Lashdri 796, Ldghdri 417, Mugheri 269) ; Goia
5,134; Umrani 1,098; Brdhuis 1,965 (including Bangulzai
470, Baddzai 280, Dindrzai 168, Ldngav 137, Lehri 164,

I Mdngal 467, Pindrdni 465, Zefiri 105) ; Magassi 605 ; Marri

44; Dcmbki 269; Jat 12,351 (including 7,400 Abra) and 224
Saiads. The principal occupation of the indigenous popu-
lation is agriculture, wffiile the trade of the country is chiefly
in the hands of the Hindus.

In addition to the head quarter station of the tahsil, of which
the name has recently (1903) been changed from Nasirabdd
to Yatedbad, the important villages are Hamidpur, Mdhnipur,
Sohbatpur, Mamal, Rojhdn Dur Muhammad Khdn (the head
quarters of the Jamalis), Muhammadpur, also called Usta

Nasirabad.

Population.

Villages,

262 CHAP. IV.^MINIATURE GAZETTEER.

Nasirabad.

Agriculture.

Communi-

cations.

Administra
tion and
staff.

and Ganddkha. Muhammadpur is noted for its leather
works.

The irrigation is supplied by the Shahiwdh, Frontier
Rdjbdh, Uch Rdjbdh and Manjdthi branches of the Desert
canal, and the Ndr Wdh and Sir Wdh branches of the Begdri
canal. The irrigated area under cultivation in 1904-5 was
1,03,085 acres, of which 71,348 acres were watered by the
Desert and 31,737 acres by the Begari canal ; t ie largest area
irrigated in any year since was 1,08,788 acres in 1903,

of which 68,302 were irrigated by the Desert and 40,486 by
the Begdri canal. The khushkdba or dry-crop cultivation
represents about 10 per cent, of the whole.

The principal harvest is the kharif^ the chief crops of
whicii are judr^ iily rice, cotton and indigo ; the principal
crops of the harvest include wheat, gram and oil-seeds.
A rough estimate made of the agricultural stock in 1904
puts the number of camels at 2,000, donkeys 500, bullocks
and cows 5,000, sheep and goats 6,000 and buffaloes 400.

The railway line (about 82 miles) from Jhatpat to within
7 miles of Sibi is under the administrative charge of the
Extra Assistant Commissioner, Nasirdbad ; the stations are
Jhatpat, Temple Ddra, Nuttal, Bdlpat, Lindsay and Mithri.

The country is open and passable in all directions ; the
principal tracks are from Jacobdbdd to Nasirdbdd (8 miles) ;
Jacobdbdd to Ddra Bugti (78 miles) ; Nasirdbdd to Sibi via
Shahpur, Chhattar, Phuldji and Lahri (96 miles) ; and from
Lashkar Khan Kot in the west of the tahsil to Malguzdr,
(104 miles) in tiie east.

The present head quarters of the sub-division and tahsil
are at Naisirdbdd (Yateabad) about 2| miles to the east of
Jhatpat station, but will shortly be transferred to Jhatpat
itself (1906). An Extra Assistant Commissioner is in charge
of the sub-division; and the subordinate revenue staff
consists of a tahsilddr, ndib tahsildar, a muhdsiby tssfo
Mmin^-os a.nd nine pat^dris. There are tssio milddrs 'An A
forty-eight headmen. The tahsil is divided into nine cir»
cles s Lahri Dombki, Sanhari, Mdnhipur, Dhdndah, Sohbat.
pur, Khdnpur, Muhammadpur, Sirwdh and Ndsirabdd, the
first five of which are watered by the Shdhiwdh or Desert
canal, the next three by the Begdri canal, while the Nasira-
• See Table IX, Vol. B.

LAND REVENUE.

263

bid circle receives water, from both canals. There are 30
police and 88 levies (including 60 sowars, 24. men of whom
are employed on the Railway line). The Bugti tribal levies

also hold the posts of Shdhpur (22), SiU (20), Haran
Asr^li (5), Gandoi (10) and Gordnari (16).

As a tentative measure the following scale ot rates
been fixed for the Desert Canal and its branches

(S),

has

Kharif,

Rice

Flow ...
Lift
RabL

Bori ...
Flow ...
Lift

Duhdru
Watered
Un watered

Other Crops.

Rs.

o
1 2

and a special cess of 6 pies per acre is also collected. The
water rate, which is paid to the Bombay Irrigation Depart-
ment, is Rs. 1-8-0 per acre.

On the Begdri Canal the land revenue is Re. i per acre,
the cess 6 pies, and the water rate (paid to the Bombay
Government) Re. i. The Dtihdri rates and the rate for rice
cultivation are the same as for the Desert Canal, in Khush-
kdha lands the revenue is realized in kind at one-sixth of the
produce. Grazing tax has not yet been imposed (1905). In
1904-5, the first complete year of the present administration,
the revenue, excluding water tax, amounted to Rs. Ij 55 >^ 95 *

There are two cemeteries, one at Sibi, one at Zidrat, and
graveyards at Ndri near the Ndri bridge on the Mushkdf
Boldn Railway, at Ndri Gorge about 7^ miles from Sibi, and
at Mdngi and Shdhrig. Near the Dalujdl Railway station
tliere is the solitary grave of Captain Delacy Passy of the
24th Pioneers who died on the 3rd of February

^T886. . ..

Nabirabad®

Land

Revenue.

Christian

cemeteries.

CHAPTER V.

Physical

Aspects.

Situation.

Boundaries.

Configura-

tion.

MARRI-BUGTI COUNTRY.

^HE Marri and Bug-ti country is situated between 28° 26'

-*■ and 30° 4'N, and 67° 55' and 69° 48'E, and has an area of
7,129 square miles. The northern portion, the area of which
is 3,268 square miles, is occupied by the Marris and the
southern portion (3,861 square miles) by the Bugtis. The
country covers the greater part of the southern and eastern
portion of the District, and is bounded on the north by the
Duki, Kohlu and Bdrkhdn tahsils, on the south by the Nasi'r-
ibdd tahsil, on the east by the Ddra Ghdzi Khdn District
of the Punjab, and on the west by Kachhi, Sibi and part of
the Shdhrig tahsil. The Bdmbor, Nafusk, Danda, Jantali
and Utwanga hill ranges roughly form the line of division
between the two tribes. ;

The Marri and Bugti tracts are situated at the southern
end of the Sulaimdn range, and consist chiefly of narrow
parallel ridges of closely packed hills, which form the gradual
descent from the Sulaimdn plateau into the plains. They are
intersected by numerous hill-torrents and ravines, and gene-
rally speaking are barren and rugged, poorly supplied and
inhospitable. Here and there are good pasture grounds,
and a few valleys or plains which are gradually being
brought under cultivation.

The Marri area may be conveniently divided into the three
following portions : (i) Kahdn (2,353 feet), including Tadri,
Ddho and Bdmbor ; (2) a portion of Pheldwagh, Nesdu
(3,000 feet), and Jantali (2,847 feet) ; and (3) Mdwand (2,620
feet) and Gamboli. The principal plains and valleys in the
Bugti country are the Sham, Siahdf, and Marav (2,195 feet).
Chat, Sidhtdk, and Patr, Loti, Lop, Tusso and Machro,

HILLS AND RIVERS. 265

Dashtl-g-ordnj the Mat plain south of the Zen range, and the
Nilag north of Siri,

The mountain ranges of the Marri country may be described
as presenting a series of limestone ridges, forming more or
less parallel valleys, the general lie of which to the east of
6g°E. is from north-east to south-west, and to the west of
that line from north-west to south-east. They include the
Dungdn (6,861 feet), Lakar (6,820 feet), Sidlu (8,ii20, Tiki!
or Tikhil (6,886'), SiAh Koh (5,505'), Kup, Chappar (4,674'),
Sir Am (3,790'), Shatrak (3,800'), Turki Koh, Tatra (4,020'),
Rastrhni (3,000 to 4,000'), Danda range including Nafusk
(3,756'), Bdmbor (4,890'), and Gurdndani and the Simari
range (5,630 to 5,740'). The principal passes in the Marri
country are the Ndri, Kuchdli and Spmtangi on the Sibi-
Harnai road ; the Arand between Khajak and Quat Mandai;
the Angdr betw^een Gamboli and S6mbar ; the Sembar
between Gamboli and Thai ; the Pazha between B6ji and
Thai ; the Kuba Wanga between Bdla Dhdka and Kohlu ;
the Mdr between Kohlu and Vitdkri ; the Lunidl between
Bor and Kui ; the Dojamak on the Kohlu Kahdn road a few
miles to the north of Kahdn ; the Dangar in the Shatrak
range ; and the Naifusk between the Marri and Bugti country.

In the Bugti country the principal hill ranges are the Bdm-
bor, Nafusk and Danda, which separate it from the Marri
country; the Zdn (3,630'); the Mir Dost Zard hills ; the
Khaiandrani range (3,508') ; Pir Koh (3,650') ; and the Gian-
ddri hills (4,143').

As a general rule the communications in both the Marri
and Bugti tracts are comparatively easy to the east and west,
while those from north to south, which cross the transverse
ridges of the hills, are difficult.

With the exception of the streams of Nesdu, Pheldwagh
and Jantaii, which flow to the east, the Marri country drains
into the Sibi and Kachhi plains, the main direction of the
rivers being almost due west. The principal rivers are the
B^ji and Dada, both of which are affluents of the Nhri and
have a perennial supply of water ; the Talli stream (known
as the Sundimari, Chhkar Thank, Karm^ri and M<mjra in
different localities) which rises in the hills bordering on
Kohlu and has an intermittent flow of perennial water; and
the Nd.1, also called the Gandhdr, which carries off the drain-

Physical

Aspects,

Hill ranges.

Rivers,

266

Physical

Aspects.

Water
pools and
kumhsi

Geology,

CHAP. V.~MARRl-BUGTI COUNTRY.

age of the Makhmdr, Sori Kaur, and Kahdn valleys. It is a
fine stream at Tratdni, but is lost before it reaches Lahri
except during floods, ^ ^

The principal streams in the Bugti country are • the Sori
which rises in the Mir Dost Zard hills and is joined by the
Tuso or Taso ; the Sidf or Sidhdf stream, which traverses the
va^lley of the same name and is joined near Sangsila by the
Pdtr nullah ; these united form the Marwar nullah which is
lost in the plain of Kachhi south of Phuleji ; the Landa
Labbar, Leni, and other minor streams, which drain the
southern part of the country and are also lost in the plains
The eastern portion of the Bugti country is drained bv the
Phaildwar, Kalchds, Sara Dab, Khajiiri or Shori, Zamurddn
and Doll hill torrents. The country also contains many
minor rivulets and may be said to be fairly supplied with
water, but the Sidhdf Pdtr and Tuso nullahs alone contain
large bodies of running water or deep pools which may
always be depended upon in their upper courses.

Deep pools or kumbs, which are found in the beds of
streams and in many parts form the only supply of drinking
water, are a characteristic feature of the country. Among
the principal in the Marri country are the Zai, Jangjdhi,
Chhddgi, Jaurakdn and Sori in the Zai hills, the Sidh gari
and Jainak near Kahdn ; the Bundfdor, Noddngari and Tho-
lagh in the Bandar Lat hills ; the Gokhdni and Sdrto in the
Bdmbor hills ; the Manda in the Sordn Kaur range ; and the
agzai in the Nafusk hills Those in the Bugti country are
the Bdgi, and Lohdr in the Zdn hills ; the Hargdhi about 3
miles irom Ddra Bugti ; the Khajiiri near Loti ; and the
Chillo in the Gidnddri hills.

There is no published description dealing specially with the
geology of the Marri country. The hflls inclu^ strata
belongmg to the Siwdlik, Spintangi, Ghazij and Dungdn
formations. In many parts there are indications of the exist-
ence of petroleum. The Bugti hills consist principally of
biwdhk strata anti nummulitic limestones, and have been
described in detail by Dr. Blanford in h\s “ Memoir of the
Geology of the hills between Quetta and Ddra Ghdsi Khan.”

A number of fossils have recently been discovered near Dera
Bugti, which have been classified as Reptilian and Mamma-
lian remains, some of the specimens of the latter belonging to

BOTANY AND FAUNA. 267

hitherto unknown species of the rhinoceros and pig
family.

The following account of the Botany of the Country has
been supplied by the Director of Botanical Survey of India : —
There is no account available of the vegetation of these
areas, but in all probability the flora differs little from that of
the adjacent part of the Punjab, consisting as the latter does
of a scrub jungle, composed chiefly of such plants as Flacoiir-
tia sapida^ F. sepiaria^ several species of Grewia mzyphtis
immmularia^ Acacia Jacquemontii^ A, lencophlma^ Alhagi
camelorum^ Crotalaria hurhia^ Pros opts spicigera^ several
species of TamariXy Nerium odorum^ Rhazya stricta, Calotro-
pis procera^ Periploca aphylla^ Tecoma undulafa^ Lycitmi
Europmwii Withania coagulans^ W, somnifera^ N amiorrhops
Ritchieana, Fagonia tribulus^ Peganum hartnalUy Calligonum
polygonoides, Polygomim aviculare^ P. pleheuim^ Rtmiex vesi
cariuSi Chrozophora plicata^ species of Arisiida, A 7 tthisiiriay
Ct 7 ichrus and PennisetumP

The wild animals include the wolf {giuk)^ jackal {tolagh),
hyena {afidr), fox {lumar)y porcupine {sdkun)^ wild pig {sidh
rasiar)f straight horned mdrkhor {sanddn), oorial or wild sheep
{gadh) and ravine deer. The leopard (dihar) and the manih on
small black bear are also occasionally found in the Marri
hills.

Among the game birds are the lesser bustard (kafinjar)^
partridge, pigeon, sisi and quail.

Reptiles include the tortoise, several genera of lizards and
many varieties of poisonous snakes.

No figures are available in connection with either the
rainfall or the temperature of these tracts. The conditions
of the higher parts of the Marri country resemble those of
Sh?lhrig, and possess a climate intermediate between the
extremes of the plains and the highlands. In the lower
hills in both the Bugti and the Marri country the heat in
summer is great ; the rainfall is scanty and precarious, and
the country is subject to periodical droughts. The most
useful rain falls in the summer months between June and
August.

The census of I goi in this part of the District was carried
out through the tribal headmen on the family system ” of
enumeration, and the results thus obtained showed a total

Physical

Aspects.

Botany.

Fauna.

Climate,
temperature
and rainfall.

Population.

268 CHAP. V.-MARRI-BUGTI COUNTRY.

Population, population of 38,919*; Marris 20,391 and Bugtis 18,528.

The incidence of population was about 6 per square mile in
the Marri and 5 per square mile in the Bugti country.
F urther details of the principal census statistics are given in
table II, Vol. B. Previous to 1891 rough estimates were
made from time to time, and in 1S67 the fighting strength of
the two tribes was computed at 2,070 for the Marris and
1,600 for the Bugtis. In 1870 Mr. Bruce estimated the
numbers of the Marri fighting men, including the Mazardnis,
at about 4,000 and. those of the Bugtis at about 2,200. In
1891 the total strength of the Marris was shown as 9,578
(men .,090, women 2,830, boys 1,605 and gfirls 1,053) and
of the Bugtis 13,709 (men 5,325, women 4,264, boys 2,520
and girls 1,600). Compared with 1891, the total population
in 1901 shows an increase of 67 per cent., Marris 113 per
cent., and Bugtis 35 per cent. This large increase may
chiefly be accounted for by the more satisfactory methods of
enumeration, but it may also be assumed that the actual
numbers have increased owing to a more settled government
and the cessation of raids and internal feuds.

The following table shows the age statistics and the com-
parative number of the sexes as far as information is
available from the census records : —

Tribal area.

Total.

j Males.

Females.

Adults.

Males
under 12
years.

Adults.

Females
under 12
years.

Marri country

20,391

6,877

4,614

5,403

3,497

Marris

19,161

6,478

4,374

5*037

3.272

Hamsiyas ...

1,091

349

221

322

198

Hindus ...

1 40

Bugti country

18,528

6,238

4,028

5,139

3,123

Bugtis

>7.548

5,869

3,832

4,846

3,001

Ham.s4yas

708

259

152

199

Hindus

272

110

• These figures include Hamsdyahs and Hindus.

MARRIAGE CUSTOMS.

269

The very great majority of the population are nomads, and
there are only a few permanent villages. In addition to
Quat Mandai, and Badra, which are now included in the
Sibi tahsil, the only villages in the Marri country are Kahdn,
the tribal head-quarters, and Mdwand ; while in the Bugti
country the villages are D 4 ra Bugti, Sangsila and Loti.
Both Kahdn and Ddra Bugti are surrounded by walls, and
the chiefs and principal members have good houses, but for
the rest the dwellings consist chiefly of small mud hovels.

Both Harris and Bugtis migrate periodically to the adjoin-
ing districts of Dera Ghdzi Khdn, Jacobdbad and Sibi and
more especially in years of drought and famine. A number
of the Marris regularly spend half the year in the Kohlu valley
with their flocks and herds.

In the time of Sarddr Bfbrak 800 Shambani Bugtis migra-
ted permanently to Rohri in Sind; and about forty years
ago 250 men of the Sundrdni section of the Perozdni clan
settled down in Ldrkdna. A considerable migration of the
Marris took place in the time of Sarddr Mubdrak Khdn, the
son of Bahawaldn, when about 5,000 tribesmen are said to
have permanently removed to Mirpur in Sind. Several
Marri and Bugti families have also settled from time to time
in the Jacobdbdd district. The Ddmanis, a predatory and
nomad tribe living in the Persian Sarhad on the borders of
Chdgai, claim their descent from the Marris, but it is not
known when they separated from the parent stock.

The social customs of the Marris and Bugtis in most essen-
tials follow the general customs of the Baloch, which have
already been described in detail in Chapter I, Population.
Among the Marris, the Bahdwaldnzais or the ruling family
(sarddr khel) do not give their girls to other Marris or to any
other tribesmen except those who belong to families of a
similar standing among the Mazdri, Drishak and Dombki
tribes. They have, however, no objection to taking their
brides from the Marri clans, from other Baloch tribes and
sometimes even from the Jats. Among the Bahdwalanzais
bride price is neither paid nor demanded.

The Rah^jas hold a similar position among the Bugtis, and
only give their girls to the members sarddr khel of other

tribes; they are stricter as regards their brides and do not
intermarry with tribes of an admittedly inferiGr social status.

Population.
Villages and
their char-
acter.

Migration.

Marriage

customs.

270

CHAP, K--MARRHBUGTI COUNTRY.

Population.

Language,

The Marri
tribe.

Among the other tribesmen bride price is generally
paid, the amount varying from Rs. 100 to Rs. 500 according
to the position of the parties. Exchanges of girls between
families {maitan) are common. The dower [haq-i-mahr)
varies from Rs. 10 to Rs. 15, and in rare cases si>metimes
amounts to Rs. 70. Children among friends, and especially
in the Lohardni tribe, are sometimes betrothed [sang) at an
early age, but marriage does not usually take place until
after puberty. Polygamy is permitted, but is rare except
among the well-to-do. Custom allows cohabitation with
concubines, but their offspring do not inherit. Divorce is rare,
and adultery and misconduct are usually punished by death.
In this respect the Marris and Bugtis are perhaps stricter
than most other tribes, mere suspicion on the part of a hus-
band being sufficient and tribal custom does not demand any
proof. If the seducer effects his escape, the case is settled
by ji7'ga And compensation is awarded, the amount being
determined on the merits of each case ; the usual rate among
the Marris being Rs. i,coo, a girl, a sword and a gun, and
among the Bugtis one or two girls and from Rs. 200 to Rs. 500.
Within the tribal areas no punishment is awarded for killing
the guilty parties, but outside these limits the tribesmen
cannot claim the privilege of tribal custom, and are liable to
whatever punishment may be awarded by the law of the land
within the limit of which the offence has been committed!

The Marris and Bugtis speak the eastern dialect of Baluchi,
which contains a large percentage of Sindi and Punjabi words ;
the Hindus and Jats living in the tribal areas speak Jatki.

According to the census of 1901 the population of the
Marri country was 20,391, which included 19,161 tribesmen,
1,090 ha 7 nsdyas and 140 Hindus. The hamsdyas chiefly consist
of Jats (both cultivators and camel gfraziers)., artisans and
servile dependants. The Hindus, who are mostly traders and
have been settled in the country for some generations, are of
the Arora caste and originally came from Harand, Ddjal and
Kachhi.

The Marris are the most numerous of all the Baloch tribes
in Baluchistdn. Like the rest of the Baloch tribes, the tribe
was originally a confederacy of heterogeneous elements, many
of them outlaws and exiles from other tribes. This con-
federacy first clustered round a Baloch nucleus, which is said

ORIGIN OF NAME.

2yi

to be connected with the Puzh section of the Rinds of Marris—
Kuidnch in Makran. The original settlements of this nucleus
were situated round Mdwand in the hills to the east of Sibi,
but they gradually spread out acquiring the country of the
Hasnis on the east and taking Quat-Mandai from Afghans on

the north.

The tribe is divided into three main takkars or clans, the
Ghazani (8,117) ; the Loharani-Shirdni (6,369) and the Bijardni
(4,675)« Each of these clans is divided into a number of
phallis ox sections, and these sections are again divided into
sub-sections called pcira or fi^'qah. The formation of the tribe
into the main clans was carried out by Sarddr Doda Khdn,
the cfuef of the Harris, five generations ago, and a list of
the clans and their sections with their numbers and the
names of the headmen is given in appendix VL

The early history of the tribe centres round Mir Chakar Early
Khan, the Rind hero of Baloch romance. After his quarrels
with the Lasharis and after he had been driven out ofSibi by
the A rghi'uis, Mir Chakar took refuge in what is now the
present Mani country near the Manjara river, a defile on
which, the Chakar Thank, still bears the name. Shortly
afterguards the main body of the Rinds migrated to the coun-
try east of the Indus, but a small section of the Puzh Rinds
detached itself from Mir Chdkar and elected to remain behind
in the Sewistan hills. The leader of this section was Bijdr
Khan, and he had with him Ali Khan, Mando Khdn
and Khalu Khdn, Rinds, a blacksmith (loMr), a gar-
dener called Kangra, and a negro (Sidi) named Shah6ja.

These men were the founders of the Marri tribe, which thus
commenced to gather within the first quarter of the sixteenth
century. The particular spot where Bijdr Khdn ‘■eparated
from Mir Chdkar is known as Bijdr Wad to the present day.

The previous history of this part of the country is unknown,

but it would seem to have been wandered over by the Kal- the tribe and

mati Kupchdni and other Baloch tribes, all traces of whom

^ \ their name.

have now disappeared with the exception of their tombs. It
would appear that their movements had been caused by
their own quarrels and it is probable that the Harris in the
first instance settled in deserted lands. The Harris first held
the Tadri mountain, Bijdr Wad, Mando Thai and Kach
Murai, and it is stated that from their residence at the last

CHAP:

-MARRPBUGTI COUI^TRF.

M arris-
history.

Formation
of the clans.

named place they acquired the name of Marai, by which they
are still known among the Pathan tribes, but which for com-
mon use has been shortened down into idarri.

The Bijardni clan were founded by Bljdr Khdn, the Lohd.-
rdiii by the blacksmith [lohdr)y and the Ghazani, who were
the last formed division, by Gazzo or Ghazan, a Bol6di boy
who had been adopted by Ali Khdn. The Bijardni are found
principally in the northern portion of the country, the Ghazani
in the centre and west, and the Lohardni lo the south and
south-east. These small groups gradually increased and
began a career of raiding and conquest, but later on as their
strength became constantly lessened by raids and incursions,
it became necessary to recruit from outside ; and thus Br^-
huis, Baloch from other parts of Baluchistan, Kh^trdns,
Afghans and Jats, all gained easy admission to the tribe. As
instances of the heterogeneous character of the Marris, it may
be mentioned that the Shirdnis, now a branch of the Loha-
rdnis, were Afghdns from Zhob ; the Baddani, a section of
the Ghazani clan, were Brdhuis from Khurdsdn ; the Maza-
idni w’ere Khetrdns ; the Zhing the descendants of a slave of
Ghazan ; and the Mehkdni, who are held to be a sacred
class, mendicants from the Zarkdn tribe.

As soon as a man joined the tribe permanently he became a
participator in good and ill. Then having shown his worth,
he was given a vested interest in the tribal welfare by acquir-
ing a portion of the tribal lands at the decennial division, and
his admission was sealed with blood by a woman from the
tribe being given to him or his sons in marriage. As the
members of the tribe increased and new lands were conquered
from the Hasnis, the Bdrdzai Afghdns and others, Doda's
arbitrary division into clans became necessary ; and about
the same lime all the tribal land was permanently divided.
The division into clans and the distribution of the tribal land
were both matters of practical expediency, and the clans, thus
constituted, made useful and easily commanded units for
predatory expeditions.

The composition of the Marti tribe is fully illustrated in
Subsidiary Table VI (page 141) of the Census Report for
1901.

bijarAni and aliAni sardArs.

Local tradition asslg’os the fol!o\\ing order to the Marri Mabeis-
Sarddrs : — Histoey.

Bijar dni and Alidni Sarddrsr^'

1. Bijdr Khdn (probably died about 1550).

2. SaMr Khdn.

3. Darwdsh Khdn.

4. Jaldidn Alidni Sarddr.

Gkasani Sarddrs.

List of Sar-
ddrs and
their historv.

1. Sahtak Khdn son of Ghazan Khdn.

2. Ndsar Khan son of Sahtak Khdn.

3. Mdnak Khdn son of Ndsar Khdn.

4. Ghazan Khdn son of Mdnak Khdn.

5. Ndsar Khan son of Ghazan Khdn.

6. Durre Khan son of Ndsar Khdn.

7. Habib Khdn son of Ndsar Khdn.

8. Ghazan Khdn son of Durre Khdn.

9. Mibdrak Khdn son of Durre Khdn.

10. Dost All son of Bahdwaldn Khdn.

11. Bahdwaldn Khdn son of Dost Ali Khan (died

about 1805).

12. Mubdrak Khdn son of Bahdwaldn Khdn.

13. Doda Khdn son of Mubdrak Khan.

14. Din Muhammad Khdn son of Doda Khdn.

15. Nfir Muhammad Khan son of Doda Khdn.

16. Ghazan Khan son of Nfir Muhammad Khan.

(died 1876).

17. Nawab Mehrulla Khan (died March 1902).

18. K.B. Nawab Khair Bakhsh Khan, the present

chief.

Bijdr Khdn, w-ho was killed in a fight with the Boledis,

The Bijardni

was succeeded by his son Saldr Khdn. During the time of and Alidni
this chief the Bolddis were expelled from the Kahdn valley
which was occupied by the Marris. It is related that
hilst out shooting Saldr Khdn found a little Boledi boy
o had been deserted by his parents ; the child was sit-
under a or tamarisk tree and from this circumstance
called Gazzo or Ghazan. He was adopted by Ali Khdn,

'^The Marrif, as a whole, do not recognise these Bijardni Sarddrs
as chiefs of the tribe. The first chief acknowledged by the whole
tribe was Sahtak Khdn, the first of the Ghazani Sarddrs.

274

CHAP, V.^MARRPBUGTI COUNTRY,

Marris—

HISTORYo

Ghazani Sap
’/it's.

SAh '<k, 5tli
Sard/«r

Bahdwaldn
or Kahdwal
Kh;ln, nth
Sarddr.

the Rind, and became the ancestor of the present ruling-
family and the founder of the powerful Ghazani clan.

Saldr Khdn was succeeded by his son Darw6sh Khdn,
who seems to have displeased the Marris by his foolish
behaviour; he anticipated his forcible deposition by selling
his birthright to Jaldidn, the son of Ali Khdn, Rind, and
the Sarddrship of the tribe thus passed into the hands of the
Aliani section.

On his deathbed Jaldldn nominated his nephew Sdhtak,
the son of Ghazan, as his successor, passing over his own
son who was a minor. Sdhtak was absent in Sind when
Jalalan died, and serious quarrels arose between the Alianis
and the Bijdrdnis with regard to the succession.

Finally Sdhtak was appointed, but, before agreeing to
hold the chieftainship, demanded and obtained the following
conditions among others firstly that the Sardar should be
given a sheep or goat every year from each flock as his
right or ghal ; and secofidly that whenever either he himself
or any member of his family visited any section of a tribe on
business, they should be entitled to receive a sheep or goat
without payment The rights are still enforced, but in a
modified degree, and the ghal is not taken if the flock
consists of less than 40 animals.

Bahdwaldn’s sarddrship marked a new point of depar-
ture in the relations between the Marris and their chief, and
still further accentuated the peculiar position which Gazzo’s
son Sahtak had acquired for bis family. In a tribe devoted
to theft and robbery as is or was the Marri tribe, there must
naturally spring up certain relations with traders and sur-
rounding tribes, uhich are dependent on the payment of
black-mail. The Marris have always held to the laws of
honour, which regulate such relations, with the greatest
stringency. If a Mani of position gives his shield or ring
or any other token to a traveller, he will avenge with the
fiercest determination any infringement by other members of
the tribe of the protection thus afforded. In the same way
the tribe will, as a rule, act as one man in supporting the
chief in the restoration of any property which he may be
responsible for under arrangements made by him with the

* A historical and descriptive report on the District of Thal-Chotidli
and JJarnai by Surgeon-Major O, T. Duke, Calcutta, 18S3,

CONSTITUTION OF TRIBE.

approval of the jirga. The possession of this authority has marris—
led to the acquirement by the family of the Marri chief of History*
peculiar privileges which are not possessed to the same
extent by the chiefs’ families in any other Baloch tribe ,* but
the chief cannot be ubiquitous and the Marris regard any
descendant of Bahdwaldn as being more than their sidl or
equal, and as one to whom it is no disgrace to surrender
property or yield themselves as prisoners. In former days
this privilege was enjoyed by any Ghazani Marri, but the
latter are very numerous and the privileges above alluded to
have therefore become gradually confined to the Bahdwa-
lanzai family.

Bahdwaidn was considered a saint by the Marris, and thus a
superstitious reverence was added to the respect claimed by
him as a chief.”

In Bahawaldn’s time were commenced the quarrels between
the Hasnis and the Marris, which resulted in the eventual
expulsion of the former from their hills and lands. The
Marri tribe now established its head quarters permanently
at Kahdn.

Doda Khdn, the grandson of Bahawalan, carried on the Doda Khdn.
contest with the Hasnis until they were completely quelled, /abouffso^}!
Under this chief the tribe greatly increased in numbers and
wealth, and it was near the end of his long rule that the
Marris first came into collision with the British (1840).

It was also Doda Khan who divided the various sections constitution
of the tribe into the three main clans which have been men- of the tribe,
tioned above. At the same time the land belonging to the
whole tribe was divided into three portions, the chief being
assigned certain plots in the centre of each tract. Each clan,
which consisted of a group of sections, then distributed the
portion allotted to it, the land being divided into five shares
and one or more shares being assigned to a group of sections
according to their numerical strength. Arrangements were
also made for the redistribution after every decennial period
of the land apportioned to each share,

Doda Khan was followed by his son Din Muhammad, who Muliam-
was an imbecile and was practically set aside by his younger
brother Niir Muhammad, During Din Muhammad’s time
the Marris suffered a severe defe vtat the hands of the Biigtls,
and were greatly reduced in . trength and reputation. On

Marris—
History.
Niir Muham-
mad..

Gaxan.

Mehrulla

Khan.

Khaif'

Bakhsh,

Genera! his-
tory.

his death he w s succeeded by Ndr Muhammad, in whose
time the Marris finally annexed the valleys of Quat Mandai
and Badra and ravaged Sangan, Zawar and Sibi.

Niir Muhammad’s son, Gazan, succeeded him, and ruled the
tribe with considerable success and ability until his death
which occurred in 1876. He was credited by the Marris with
great supernatural powers, and thus a still further develop-
ment of influence accrued to the Bahawaldnzai family.

Gazan was followed by his brother Nawab Mehrulia Khan,
who died in 1902.

The present chief is Mir Khair Bakhsh Khan who was
made a Khan Bahadur in 1896 and a Nawab in 1903*

Both the Marris and Bugtis were claimed as subjects by
the Khans of Kalat, and during the reign of Nasir Khan I,
better l^nown as the great Nasir Khdn (1750-1794), were
kept well in hand and in good order. They were not per-
mitted to carry on intestine wars and feuds, and under his
powerful rule occupied and cultivated their respective
countries, which they held revenue-free, their only obligation
being to send a deputation of their headmen to attend his
court once a year and to pay a small tribute. The tribes
were also held responsible for the protection of the caravans
within their respective boundaries.

On Nasir Khan’s death the reins of authority were relaxed,
and during the effete rule of his successor, the tribesmen ex-
tended their devastations in all directions, and were at the
same time engaged in a constant round of intestine wars and
blood feuds. This unsatisfactory state of affairs continued
till the British Government first came into contact with the
tribes in 1839. The tribesmen gave much trouble to Lord
Keane’s force on its way to Afs^hdnislao ; and after the army
had passed through the Bolan, a small force was despatched
under Major Billamore to punish the principal offenders.
After chastising the Dombkis, Jakhranis and Bugtis, Major
Billamore proceeded against the Marris and occupied Kahdn
without any serious opposition. The British force left the
hills in February 1840, and in the month of April a detach-
ment was sent under the command of Captain Lewis Browne
to occupy Kahdn permanently. The detachment, which con-
sisted of 300 bayonets of the 5th Bombay Infantry, one gun,
50 sabres of the Scinde Horse and 50 Pathdn cavalry under

276 CHAP, K—MA RRPB UGTI CO UNTR F.

General John Jacob, Founder of Jacob/ibild,

OCCUPATION OF KAHAn. 377

Harris -
History.

Lieutenant Clarke, left Phul^ji on the 2nd of May, and after
great hardships, owing to the heat, the difficult nature of the
country and constant attacks by the Harris occupied Kahdn
on the 12th of the same month. The cavalry and about 160
infantry then started back for Phul^ji, but were ambushed in
the Sdrtaf Pass, and after desperate fighting the whole of the
infantry, with the exception of 12 men, were cut up, the 5th
Bombay Infantry losing 2 native officers and 144 rank and
file. Lieutenant Clarke was also killed. Captain Browne
was thus left with only 140 men and one gun to hold the
fort.

On the 31st of August a relieving force, consisting of 464
bayonet* of the ist Bombay Grenadiers, 3 guns and 200
sabres of the Poona Horse and Scinde Horse under the com-
mand Oi" Major Clibborn, reached the Nafusk Pass, where it
was attacked by large numbers of M arris and other Baloch.

The fighting lasted for the whole day, and in the evening
the small force, worn out by the heat and rendered frantic
by the want of water, was obliged to retreat after having
lost 4 British officers, 2 native officers and 178 men killed
and 92 wounded. The guns were also abandoned, together
with the whole of the transport.

The relief having thus failed and his provisions being
exhausted, Captain Browne was compelled to agree to the
terms of Doda Khan, the Marri chief, and to abandon Kahdn.

The Marri chief held himself personally responsible for their
safe conduct to the plains, and on the ist of October the
little garrison reached Phuldji after many hardships, but
without any opposition on the part of the Harris, who loyally
fulfilled their contract.

From the date of the evacuation of Kahdn there was little 1845 A. D.
communication between the British and the Harris till 1845,
when Sir Charles Napier undertook the chastisement of the
Jakhtcinis and Bugtis and entered into negotiations with the
tribe througn Captain Jacob’'^' to close the line of retreat to
the north. This co-operation was eventually given, and the
Jakhrdnis and Bugtis were hemmed in and obliged to surren-
der. Sir Charles Napier treated the Marri chiefs with great
favour and gave them handsome presents.

278 CHAP. V.-^MARRI-BUGTI COUNTRY.

Marris—

History.

After this the Marris remained nominally allied with the
British, but they continued to plunder throughout Kachhi
and laid waste the whole province ; for some time they
abstained from outrages on the British border, and their law-
less pursuits were consequently unchecked by the British
troops within whose range they took care never to come. On
the 14th of September 1848, Captain Jacob reported that the
whole province of Kachhi was being overrun by the Marris,
and the peaceable inhabitants are fast leaving the country
with their families and property to reside in Sind. The tract
of the country in the Ndri river is almost entirely deserted.
The Kalat authorities do nothing whatever to protect the
people.”

In May 1849 a fight took place between the Marris and
Brahuis at Bibi Nani, at the foot of the Bolan Pass, in which
the former were defeated with a loss of about 750 killed and
wounded out of a total force of 1,300 engaged. This was
folk'jw^ed by several raids into Sind and Kachhi, ending with
an attack in force on the town of Lahri, which was repulsed.

In January 1852 Kahan was much damaged by an earth-
quake, the details of which have already been given in
Chapter I. The following years were fully occupied by
raids and forays in all directions.

The tribe was subsidized by the Khan of Kalat after the
treaty of 1854, but its conduct shotved no improvement, and
in 1857 the Marris made a formidable attack on the town of
Asni on the Rajanpur frontier, the regular garrison of which
had been called away to serve against the mutineers in India.
The Drishak Baloch, who attempted to defend the place,
were defeated, and the Marris returned to their hills with
a large amount of plunder.

In 1858, Ghulam Murtaza, the Bugti chief, wdth 700 of his
tribesmen, made a successful raid into the Marri country, and
carried off a considerable amount of booty.

The condition of affairs in the tribal areas became so
unsatisfactory that in 1859 Mir Khuddddd Khan was com-
pelled to lead an expedition against the Marris and Bugtis.
The force, which consisted of 4,000 foot and 4,000 horse, wras
accompanied by Sir Henry Green, Genera] Jacob’s successor
at Jacobdbdd, and successfully occupied Ddra Bugti and
Kahdn, But the permanent result does not seem to have

MITHANKOT CONFERENCE, m

been very great, and a second expedition had to be made in Marris--
1862, apparently again without much beneficial result, as the ^

raids were continued and British territory itself was frequent-
ly violated.

It was in connection with these fotays that Captain
Sandeman, as Deputy Commissioner of D6ra Ghdzi Khdn,
was first brought in contact with this tribe. His policy was
that the frontier tribes should be gradually brought under
the influence of the Government, and to effect this he
enlisted 20 Marri sowars, and proposed that both the
Marris and Bugtis should be subsidized on a regular
system.

It was proposed to enlist 50 Bugti and 100 Marri horse-
oien at a charge of Rs. 32,040 per annum on the^ Sind side
and 30 Bugtis and 30 Marris on the Punjab side, and to
distribute this force along the Punjab and Sind borders.

These proposals were supported by the Bombay and Punjab
Governments, but were strenuously opposed by Sir William
Merewether, the Commissioner in Sind, who considered that
all arrangements for the peace of the border should be
conducted jointly with the Khdn of Kalat, and that^ the
latter should be strengthened in every way by the British
Government. A conference was held at Mithankot m 1871
between the Punjab and Sind authorities, with the result that
Captain Sandeman’s proposals received the provisional sanc-
tion of the Government of India, The fiist service granted
to the Marri tribe amounted to Rs. 2,545 per mensem and
included allowances to the Marri chief and the leading
Ghazani sarddrs. The immediate result was the cessation
of raids on the Punjab and Sind borders ; but although the
Marris were staved off from British territory, they continued
to be a scourge in every other direction, and their raids
extended as far as the precincts of Kaldt itself. The trade
of the Bolan and Thai Chotidli routes was stopped, and their
last feat was to destroy the town of Kirta in the Bolan.

Such was the condition of affairs when Major Sandeman
was deputed on his first mission to Kaldt in 4875. He
marched through the Marri and Bugti hills and was joined
by the principal chiefs who accompanied him to kaldt.

Then followed his second mission in 1876, which resulted in
the establishment of the Baluchistdn Agency at Quetta.

Marris—

History,

Formation of

Baiuchistdn

Ag'ency,

Kuchdli raid.

MacGregfor’s

Expedition,

280 CHAP. V.—MARRPBUGTI COUNTRY.

After the formation of the Baluchistan Agency, Sardar
Mehrulla Khan, the Marri chief, offered his services to the
British Government ; these were accepted by^ Sir Robert
Sandeman, and an assurance was given that the internal
affairs of the Marri country would not be interfered with so
long as there were no disturbances and the tribe remained
loyal to the British Government. Henceforth the improve-
ment in the conduct of the Harris was rapid and remarkable,
and during* the first stage of the Afghdn war they continued
to render excellent service.

The extension of the railway was in the meantime being
pushed on with great rapidity, and as the mass of the British
troops were fully occupied on the long line of communication
between Sind and Kandahar, it became necessary to trust
more to the protection of the local levies, and accordingly
additional service was given to the tribe. Unfortunately the
reverse at Maiwand and the consequent siege of Kandahar
rendered it necessary for the work on the rail’way line to be
suspended and for the troops to be entirely withdrawn
from the whole line. This operation was carried out with the
greatest possible expedition, and many valuable stores were
left behind owing to the lack of transport. The reverses of
the British in Afghanistan were exaggerated, and this hasty
retreat led the tribesmen to believe that the country was to
be abandoned as it had been in 1842.

These events contributed to throw the Harris off their
balance, and on the 6th of August 1880 a band, composed
of the Thingidni, Chhalgari and Bijardni sections, attacked a
convoy near Kuchdli. Forty-two men were killed and a
large amount of Government and private property, including
treasure amounting to Rs. 1,25,000, was looted. After this
the tribe became openly hostile and several raids were made
in different parts of the country. In consequence of this
misconduct, the Government of India determined to send a
military expedition to punish the whole tribe ; and advantage
was taken of the return of the Kabul-Kandahar force to
despatch a brigade under the command of General Mac-
Gregor through the Marri country. This force left Quetta
in September 1880 and marched through Harnai, Quat
Mandai, the Sdmbar pass, Thai and Kohlu without opposi-
tion. Kahan was occupied without any fighting, and

MODERN EVENTS.

281

Mehrulla Khan, the Marri chief, and the leading headmen
tendered their submission. A fine of Rs. 2,00,000 was
imposed, of which Rs. 1,25,000 were paid up at once,
Rs. 25,000 remitted, and the Quat Mandai lands were held
as security for the balance. Hostages were also taken from
each of the three clans. Writing of the Kuchali raid Sir
Robert Sandeman says: — “The son of Sardar Mehrulla
Khan, Khair Bakhsh, was also in the immediate neighbour-
hood ; but he appears to have taken no part in the raid and
immediately reported its occurrence to me. He is said to
have communicated the news to his father in a characteristic
manner, having sent to him a piece of paper smeared black
on both sides, with the remark that the tribesmen had thus
blackened the faces both of himself and of his father.” The
loot was divided according to tribal custom, and the chief
received his panjuk or sardar’s share which amounted to
Rs. 3,000 in cash and 45 bullocks.

In January 1881 the entire charge of the Marri tribe was
made over to the Political Agent of the Thai Ghotidli
District, and the tribal service was reorganized at a cost of
Rs. 2,990 per mensem in addition to a sum of Rs. 430 per
mensem allotted to the levies employed for the protection
of the telegraph line to Kuchdli.

At the close of i88i a small column, designated the
Buzdar column, under the command of General Wilkinson,
was sent to Dera Ghazi Khan through the Kakar, Tarin,
Marri and Ltini districts. The march was successful and
this part of the country, which had hitherto been only
partially explored, was thoroughly opened out.

In January 1883 a feud broke out between the Marris and
Bugtis, and the young Bugti chief, Shahbdz Khdn, invaded
the Marri country with a force of 1,200 horse and foot, and
carried off 700 head of sheep and cattle.

The affairs of the Kohlu valley, and its ultimate occupa-
tion by Government in 1892, have already been described in
Chapter IV.

Among modern events of importance may be mentioned
the Marri-Liini case and the fanatical outrages committed
by the Jadwdni Thingiiini Marris on the railway line in 1896
and 1899.

Marris—

History.

The Buzdilr
column.

Bugti raid of

1883-

Kohlu valley.

Modern

events.

282

CEA P. V. ^MA PRl-B UG Tl CO UN TP F.

M arris-
history.

The Marrl-
Ldni case,

1895.

Sunari raid,
1896.

Second out-
rage at Su*
nari, 1899.

There had been constant disputes and fighting between
the Li'mi and Marri tribes in connection with the grazing on
the Chamalang plain, and these culminated in April 1895
in a raid by the Lohardni Marris into the Ldni country,
when fourteen Lfinis were killed. A counter raid wsls made
b}^ the Ldnis, which resulted in the death of eight Marris.
The case was heard by the Quetta Shdhi Jirga, and com-
pensation to the amount of Rs. 18,420 was awarded against
the Marris and Rs. 8,800 against the Ldnis. Four Marris
and six Ldnis were sentenced to transportation for life, and
others of both tribes to shorter terms of imprisonment. The
Marri and Ldni chiefs were required to furnish heavy
securities for their future good behaviour, and the rate ot
blood money between the tribes was raised from Rs. 600
to Rs. 1,000.

On the 14th of October 1896, five Thingidni Marris,
headed by one Hdji Kdla Khcin, commonly known as the

Mast Fakir,” attacked the railway station at Sunari and
killed seven men, including a European platelayer and the
Muaharnniadan station master. On the following day the
fanatics murdered four Hindu labourers at the Khdrapdni
gang hut, and on the 16th set fire to another hut. The
Marri tribesmen were called out by Colonel Gaisford, then
Political Agent, and finally the ‘‘Mast Fakir” and two
of his companions were surprised and captured in the
Dungdn hills on the 24th of October by General Gatacre,'*^
and a small party of the 124th Baluchistdn Infantry. The
fanatics were tried under the Murderous Outrages Act and
executed at Sibi on the 2nd of November 1896. The
remaining three men were captured by the Marris them-
selves ; these were also similarly tried, and two of them
hanged at Sibi on the loth of November, the third, who had
assisted in the capture of his comrades, being released on
certain conditions. Tribal responsibility was enforced, and
a fine of Rs. 6,000 was imposed on the Marri chief and
his tribe.

In October 1899, tw’o Thingidni Marris attacked a gang
hut near Sunari and wounded two coolies, both of whom
subsequently died. The culprits were tried under the

^ Ttie late Sir William Gatacre, K.C.B., D.S.O., who then com-
manded the Quetta District.

Murderous Outrages Act, sentenced to death and hanged.
A fine of Rs. 2,000 was imposed on the Jadwdni section
of the Thingidnis to which the fanatics belonged ; all sec-
tions of the Thingianis, with the exception of the Zaverdnis,
were required to give hostages ; and the Harris were pro-
hibited from carrying arms along the Railway line or in
British territory.

In August 1900, a Mehkdni Marri fanatic murdered a
Khoja shopkeeper in the Sibi bazar. The murderer was
captured and sentenced to transportation for life under the
Murderous Outrages Act. The Mehkdni section were also
fined Rs. 800, and certain of the fanatic’s relations and the
headmen were detained as hostages in the Sibi jail.

An important point in the political administration of the
country during 1892-3 was the settlement of the future
relations of the Marri chief with his headmen, between
whom ill feeling had long existed. Owing to his great age
and ill-health, Mehrulla Khdn’s hold over his tribe had
become relaxed, and the actual power had been gradually
usurped by the wasir of the tribe, Mir Hazdr Khdn, Ghazani,
and the headmen of the various sections. According to the
agreement arrived at between the sarddr and his headmen,
the position of the former was clearly defined as the head of
the tribe, w^hile Mir Hazdr Khdn retained his standing as
waisir^ but was held to be subordinate in all matters to the
chief and his son Mir Khair Bakhsh Khdn.

Ownng to a dispute which existed between Nawdb Shah-
bdz Khdn, the Bugti chief, and his son-in- law Miran Khdn,
Rah^ja, the latter fled to Kandahdr in 1897 and was joined
by several discontented Bugtis and Harris. Among these
w-as one Ali Muhammad, Masori Bugti, the head of his
section, and two Ghazani Harris named Gulbdg at d Malgu-
zdr. Ali Muhammad subsequently returned from Kandahdr
in order to induce others to follow his example and leave
British territory. He was so far successful, that in 1898
K. B. Mir Khair Bakhsh, son of the Marri chief, accompanied
by the headmen of several sections of the Harris, left their
homes and went to KdbuL Their example was followed by
the Dumar chiefs, the Khdtrdns and others, and also by
a few men of the Ddra Ghdzi Khdn District living on the
border, such as the Gurchdnis and the Laghdris. By

M ARRIS— •
History.

Murderous
outrage at
Sibi, S900.

Relations of
the Marri
chief with
his wasfir.

Migration to
Kdbul.

MIGRATION TO KABUL. 283

284 CHAP. V.^MARRPBUGTI COUNTRY.

Marris

History.

Levy service.

Kahjln,

assuming this attitude the Marris had fostered a hope that
they would be enabled to force the hands of Government
and obtain additional services and concessions. But they
were disappointed in their hopes, and, no notice being taken
of their absence, returned quietly to their country.

The grant of levy service to the Marri tribe dates from
the Harrand raid which occurred in 1867. Sir Robert
Sandeman was then brought in contact with the border
tribes, and a small service was given to the Marris, Bugtis
and Kh^trans The Marri service consisted of i jamaddr
and 10 sowars, who were stationed at Rdjanpur, and whose
duties were to provide escorts along the routes leading into
their hills, and to keep up communication between the tribal
chief and headmen and the authorities at Dera Ghdzi Khdn.
After the Mithankot conference the service granted to the
tribe amounted to Rs. 2,545 per mensem and included allow-
ances to the Marri chief and the leading Ghazani sarddrs.
In 1881, when the charge of the Marri tribe was made
over to the Political Agent of Thal-Chotidli, the tribal service
was reorganised at a cost of Rs. 2,990 per mensem in addition
to a sum of Rs. 430 per mensem allotted for the protection
of the telegraph line to Kuchdli. Since then there have
been several changes and additions from time to time. The
present distribution of the Marri levies is given in table
XXII, Vol. B ; they hold 17 posts, and their total strength
consists of I chief, 2 headmen, 8 risalddrs, 12 jamaddrs, 17
duffaddrs, 139 sowars, 8 footmen and 5 clerks. The total
cost is Rs. 4,842 per mensem or Rs. 58,104 per annum.
The principal duties of the levies are to assist the chief in
the administration of the country and in the maintenance of
discipline and order, to guard the communications and
supply escorts. They are responsible for the railway line
between Ndri and Sunari and supply posts at Sibi and
Quat. Marri levies are also stationed at Duki, Kohlu,
Hosri, Bdladhdka, Zaran, Vitdkri and Bdrkhdn, but these
belong more properly to the Loralai District and are not
included in the numbers given above.

The only place of importance is Kahan (29'’ 18' N. and 68"^
54^ E.), the head quarters of the Marri chief. It is situated
in an open plain on the southern banks of the Sohrab 7mllah^
an affluent of the Ndl river, and has an elevation of about

BUGTIS.

285

2i35o feet. The present Kalidn is some miles from the site
of the old town which was built Bahdwaldn and was
destroyed by an earthquake in January 1852, It is a small
walled-in town, forming an irregular hexagon about 900
3''ards in circumference with six bastions and one gateway.
The walls, which are built of mud, are in a state of bad
repair, and in some places are falling down altogether. It
is inhabited by the Marri chief and members of his family,
their hereditary dependants, who are known as Maretas,
and a few Hindu shopkeepers. The total population is
about 300 souls. Drinking water is obtained from wells
sunk in the bed of the Sohrdb. The villages of Mir Hazdr
Khdn, the hereditary wasir of the Marris and of Akhtardn
Ghazani, are situated in the neighbourhood.

The Kahan valley is a fine open plain about 12 miles in
length and 3 miles broad. The soil is fertile, and in favour-
able years is well cultivated, the irrigation being supplied
by flood-water brought down by numerous hill torrents.
In former days caravans from Khurasdn to India, after
passing through the Bolan Pass, usually proceeded through
Mai, Tratdni, Mihi Khand and Kahdn to Harrand. The
town of Kahdn is chief!}' memorable for the gallant defence
made by the small detachment of native troops under the
command of Captain Lewis Browne in 1840.

Definite information as to the country whence the
original nucleus of the Bugtis sprang is not available ; but
it is asserted to have come from Bug in Persian Baluchistdn.
Like the Marris, they appear to have originall}^ consisted of
a small nucleus which gradually gathered strength and ex-
pelled the Bul^dis from the country which the}- now occupy.
The tribe is probably not more homogeneous than other
Baloch tribes, the Pirozani Nothdnis, which is the larg-est
clan, being acknewledged to be of different stock to the
original nucleus, whilst the Shambanis, who came from the
Magassis, were a distinct tunimi^ but found themselves too
weak to stand alone, and at length amalgamated with the
stronger community.”''"

According to Mr. Dames the Bugti tribe is made up of
various elements, mainly of Rind origin, descended from

* Census of India^ Voh. L and CA, Baluchistan (1901), Chapter VIII,
page 96.

Harris-—

H ISTORY.

Bugtis.

BUGTIS— -
History.

Historical ,

Bngt'i Sar-
dcirs.

286 CHAP. V.—MARRI-BUGTI COUNTRY.

Gydnddr, the cousin of Mir Chdkar. Gydnddr’s son,
Rahdja, is said to have given his name to^ the Rahdja clan,
but the name appears to be of Indian origin.

In 1901 the tribe numbered 15,159 souls, the number of
adult males being 5,126- It is divided into seven clans ; the
Rahdja (840), of which the Bibrakzai section (i 13V the
sarddr khel or ruling family of the tribe, the Masori {2,928),
the Khalpar (i, 537 ), the Mondrdni (510), the Shambdni
(2,841), the Durragh Nothdni( 1,772), and the Pirozdni ( 4 , 73 i_)-
Each clan is again divided into various sections. Appendix
VI contains a list of these sections, the localities which they
occupy and the names of the headmen. The genealogy of
the chief’s family is also given in the same appendix.

According to the local tradition these clans have descend-
ed from Rdho, Masor, Khalpar, Mondar, Shambe, Durragh
and Piroz, all of whom are said to have been Rinds and
compatriots of Mir Chdkar. Durragh and Piroz were
brothers, but the others were not related by blood. When
Mir Chdkar crossed the Indus into the Punjab with the main
body of the Rinds, these men elected to remain behind m the
Sewistan hills with their families and households, and thus
formed the nucleus of the tribe.

The Bugtis appear to have followed the fortunes of the
Marris in their earlier history. Though claimed by the
Khdn of Kaldt as his subjects, they paid no revenue and
maintained a more or less distinct form of independence in
their rocky fastnesses.

The ruling family belongs to the Bibrakzai section of the
Rahdja clan, and, according to local information, the
following is the list of the chiefs {tumandars) from the time
of Palwan : —

1. Palwdn.

2. Badi.

3. Akif, also known as Dapil Khdn.

4. Badi.

5. Kdsim (killed at Harrand).

6. Bibrak I (brother of Kasim).

7. Sdrang.

8. Haibat (killed by the Marris).

9. Dasdl.

10. Soba (killed by the Drlshaks).

RELATIONS WITH OTHER TRIBES. 287

Bugtis-—

History*

Relations
with the Mar-
ri tribe.

11. Mitha.

12. Bibrak II.

13. Islam I (poisoned by Shehddd, the Dombki chief),

14. Bibrak III.

15. Isldm II.

16. Ghul^m Murtaza (died 1900).

17. Nawab Sir Shahbdz Khan, K.C.I.E. (the present

chief).

The tiimanddr is the acknowledged head of the whole
tribe, though the Shambinis at one time claimed to be a
distinct Inman. They were, however, always too weak to
stand alone and were considered as forming one of the
divisions of the Bugtis and joined them in war.

The Bugtis are the ancient and hereditary foes of the
Marris, and the interminable wars between these tribes first
began in the time of Bibrak I. There was a temporary truce
when Haibat Khan married the daughter of the Marri chief,
but as Haibat himself was shortly afterwards killed by the
Marris, the feud was renewed with increased vigour. At the
same time the Bugtis were at constant war with the Mazd-
ris, Drishaks, Dombkis and Bul^dis, and it was in connec-
tion with these inter-tribal fights that Bibrak III gained a
great name as a leader of successful forays.

The hostilities with the Mazaris date from the time of The Mazaris
Akif, the third Sard 4 r, who first raided the Mazari country,
and whose two sons were killed in a counter-raid. Raids
and retaliations continued at intervals and with varying
success up to the time of Bibrak III when a peace was con-
cluded with Bahram Khan, the Mazdri tiimanddr.

There were also constant feuds with the Drishaks, and
the most noticeable raid occurred in 1837 when a body of
Bugtis and Jakhr 4 nis invaded the Drishak country, carried
off a large amount of booty and severely defeated the pur-
suing Drishaks, killing their chief F^roz Khan and his
nephew Pain Khan.

In the time of Bibrak III a large force of Brahuis, who TheBrahuis.
had been sent by the Khan of Kalat to punish the tribe for
their depredations in his territory, was routed in the Marav
plains with considerable loss.

During the time of the Sikh rule in the Punjab, the Bugtis The Sikhs,
under their chief, Isldm Khan II, made a raid in force against

The Dri-
shaks.

288

CHAP. K~-MARRPBUGTI COUNTRY.

Bugtis—

History.

Billamore’s
expedition,
1839 a.d.

Napier’s

campaign.

the Mazaris near LImarkot. They were encountered by
Harsa Singh, the Sikh commander, with a body of Sikh
troops reinforced by the Mazdris. The Sikhs were defeated,
and Harsa Singh and over fifty of his men were killed. The
Biigtis captured the Sikh banners and kettledrums which
they fixed over the shrine of Sori Kushtak, where they are
still to be seen.

The connection of the Bugtis with the British commenced
in 1839. The predatory attacks by the Baloch on the com-
munications of the British Army in Afghanistan were so
dangerous and frequent that, after all other measures had
failed, a force was sent in October 1839 under the command
of Major Billaniore to punish the offending tribes. On the
arrival of the force at Phuleji, it was found that the Kachhi
plunderers had deserted their country and taken refuge in
the Bugti hills. They were followed by Major Billamore’s
detachment, and, as the troops approached Dera, the Bugtis
seemed at first to be submissive and friendly, but the small-
ness of the force tempted them to hostilities, and they at-
tacked Major Billamore with their whole strength. The
Bugtis were twice signally defeated with great loss, their
chief, Bibrak, was captured and sent as a prisoner to Sind""
and great losses were inflicted on the tribe generally.
Major Billamore remained in the hills for nearly three
months, when, having accomplished the object of his expedi-
tion, he returned by the Nafusk pass. The plundering ex-
cursions of the Bugtis were thus checked for a time, but
they soon recommenced their raids and forays, and in April
1840 Lieutenant Clarke, wiih a detachment of 180 men, made
an unsuccessful effort to surprise a party of the Khalpar
Bugtis in the hills.

At length in 1845, provoked by the repeated acts of law-
lessness on the part of the Dombkis and Bugtis, Sir Charles
Napier undertook a campaign with a view of breaking their
power. The force at his disposal consisted of over 7,000
troops as well as a large body of Baloch auxiliaries. The
campaign was conducted from two sides, one force operating
from Uch as its head-quarters and marching across the Sori
Kushtak and Jaonk ranges, while another worked up from
Phuleji and threatened the flanks of the predatory tribes.

* He was released after two years.

■RAIDS

289

As already described, the line of retreat to the north was
closed by the Harris. The Dom,bkis were thus driven into
the famous stronghold of Taraki, where they were forced to
surrender. The mass of the Bugtis, however, managed to
effect their escape into the Khetrdn valley, and though the
movements of Sir Charles Napier’s force extended over a
considerable area of their country and D6ra was occupied,
the expedition, as far as this tribe was concerned, would
only appear to have been a qualified success. . Immediately
after the force left the hills, the Bugtis- returned to their
country' and continued' their depredations in Sind and
Kachhi* ■ /

In 1846 a body of 1,200 tribesmen penetrated into the
plains of Sind, and plundered the country round Mirpur to
within about 16 miles of the city of Shikdrpur and carried
off an immense booty consisting of nearly 15,000 head, of
cattle.

In October 1847, the Bugtis raided the village of Kundrfini
in Kachhi, and while returning to the hills, were attacked
near Kunri by Lieut, (afterwards Sir William) Merewether
with 130 men of the ist Scinde Horse. , The Bugtis were
completely defeated, and are said to have lost nearly 500
killed and 120 prisoners. While the tribe was paralysed by
this blow, their country was successfully invaded by the
Harris. After this the whole tribe, broken and disheartened,
fled for refuge to the Khetrdns, the chief of which, Mir Hdji,
had given his sister in marriage to the Bugti hmianddr.
The Bugtis and the Khetrdns then united and attacked the
Harris, killing 70 of them and carrying off a large herd of
camels. They again united with the M'dsa Khdl Pathans and
penetrated into the Marri country’ as far as Pdrb, when
they encountered the 'Harris. Here the united tribesmen
suffered a severe defeat, the Bugtis alone losing over 500
men. About the end of 1847, Isl^m Khan, the Bugti chief,
surrendered to Hajor Jacob; and 868 Bugtis, including
women and children, were settled down in Ldrkfina, but the
majority shortly afterwards contrived to effect their escape
into their hills. Notwithstanding their .re.verses the tribes-
men continued their raids, and the history of the follow-
ing years consists of a series of forays into Sind and
Kachhi.

Bugtis-

History.

Mirpur raid.

Kunri raid.

Defeat of the
Bugtis at
Piirb.

290

CHAP, V.--MARRPBUGT1 COUNTRY,

BUGTIS—

History.

Battle of
Cfsambri.

Ghulclm Miitv
taza, 1861
A.D.

In 1858, Ghuldm Murtaza, who had been elected as chief
in the place of his father Isldm, made a raid on the Harris
with 700 of his clan. He passed by Kahdn itself, and
attacked the BijarAnis who were encamped in Kohlu, killing*
13 of them and carrying* off an immense booty, consisting*
of sheep, goats, cows and camels. While returning by the
Gazbor road he was intercepted by the Harris, and the two
tribes came within sight of each other on the northern side
of the Sham plain. Isldm Khdn and some of the Bugtis
proposed that they should return the Marri property and
make a truce, or that they should retreat to the Khdtran
country ; but Ghulam Murtaza, who was supported by many
of his chiefs, steadily refused either to return the cattle or
to retreat. In the morning the Bugtis attacked the Harris
at a place called Chambri, where a hand-to-hand conflict
took place, which lasted throughout the greater part of the
day and ended in the victory of the Bugtis. The Harris
retreated, leaving 130 dead on the scene of the action, while
many more died of their wounds. The Bugtis lost 40 men
killed and a greater number wounded, but they succeeded
in taking home their booty which was increased by the
addition of 84 mares and the arms of the Harris, who had
fallen in the fight. This victory completely wiped out the
defeat of Pfirb.

After the battle of Chambri, the war of retaliation was
carried on from year to year with varying success, until the
influence exercised over both tribes by Sir Robert Sandenian
brought an end to this state of affairs.

Till the latter part of 1861, the conduct of the Bugtis,
as far as the British Government was concerned, was most
exemplary. The chief, Ghuldm Murtaza, was a man in
every way fitted for his position ; he secured the respect and
fear of the members of his own tribe, and succeeded in keep-
ing the numerous sections under control. His political
relations with the surrounding tribes were admirably
managed, and on two or three occasions he was able to
inflict severe punishment on his hereditary enemies, the
Harris, who were thus prevented from attempting raids on
the lower portions of the country. In 1861 Ghulcim
Murtaza’s mind became affected, and under the influence of
monomania his conduct became so outrageous that the tribe

ZARKiyN EXPEDITION.

291

proposed to depose him and appoint his son in his stead.
The case was referred to the Khdn of Kaldt, but no settle-
ment was made ; and with the loss of individual control, the
tribe soon became broken up into sections, each commanded
by its own headman, and complete disorg-anization was the
necessary result. In 1864 a scheme for locating a portion
of the Bugtis in British territory was considered, but was
opposed by the Commissioner in Sind, who was of opinion
that the tribe should be dealt with as a whole, and as much
as possible through the Khdn of Kaldt, whose subjects they
nominally were.

The proposal was allowed to fall through, and in January
1867 occurred the great Harrand raid by a combined force
of the Harris and Bugtis under Ghuldm Husain, the Masori
headman. The raiders were defeated by a detachment of
the 5th Punjab Cavalry and a body of the Gurchani tribes-
men, and lost over 200 men killed, including their leader
Ghuldm Husain.

On the 3rd of February 1871 a conference was held at
Mithankot, with the result that the management of the
Marri and Bugti tribes was centred in the hands of the
Political Superintendent of the Upper Sind Frontier, and the
Deputy Commissioner of Dera Ghdzi Kh^n, as regards these
tribes, was placed under the orders of the Political Super-
intendent, and not under those of the Commissioner of
D^rajat, who was relieved of all responsibility as far as
these tribes were concerned* Levy service, the amount of
which has varied from time to time, was also given.

In January 1876 a small party of Masori Bugtis attacked
and looted some Zarkiins of Kohlu, but were pursued and
lost 14 of their number. A few months afterwards another
body of Bugtis, who had come to avenge the death of their
comrades, were attacked by the Zarkdns, and their leader
Haider Khdn killed together with 28 others. The Bugtis
were greatly exasperated by the death of Haider Khdn, who
was looked upon as the best and the bravest leader in the
Baloch hills, and immediately fitted out an expedition
against the Zarkiins. The Harris appear to have fomented
the strife, and gave a passage through their country to the
Bugti force, which consisted of almost all the Bugti fight-
ing men led by their chief. This force passed into the

Bugtis- ■
History.

The Harrand
raid.

Mithankot

conference,

1871.

Expedition
against the
Zarkiins.

BUGTIS— ■
History.

Sir Shahbiz
Khan.

General.

Levy service.

292 CHAP. V.^MARRI-BUGTI COUNTRY,

Kohiu valley over the Bibur Tak pass and fell on the village
of Oridni ; this was stormed after a brave defence, in which
the Zarkdns lost over 70 killed, and the valley was sacked*

In 1882 the management of the Bugti tribe was handed
over to the Political Agent, Thal-Chotidli. In 1887 GhuMm
Murtaza formally resigned the Sardarship of the tribe in
favour of his son Shahbdz Khan, the present chief, who was
created a Nawdb in 1890 and a K.C.I.E. in 1901. Shahbdz
Khdn has proved himself a strong and capable chief, and,
since his assumption of power, the behaviour of his tribe has
been exemplary.

The arms of the Bugtis were swords and match-locks,
about one-third of the tribesmen being armed with the
latter. In times of peace, when scattered over the country,
the tribe could collect at any given point and place their
iamilies and property in safety in about four days. In times
of war, when less scattered, they could mobilize in about
two days.

The Bugtis are reported to be the bravest of the hill
tribes. Physically they are some of the finest men among
the Baloch, and intellectually, perhaps, they are the least
bigoted. Like the Harris they are active and hardy and
capable of traversing great distances without fatigue.

As was the case with the Harris, the grant of the first
service to the Bugti tribe dates from 1867, when a small
body of sowars, consisting of i jamaddr and 10 sowars, were
enlisted by Sir Robert .Sandeman and stationed at Rdjanpur,
After the Hithankot conference of 1871, 50 Bugti sowars
were enlisted for service on the Sind borders, and 30 sowars
for the Punjab side. In 1882 the levy service was reorga-
nized at a total cost of Rs. 1,775 per mensem. There was
a further reorganization in 1883, and Rs, 2,140 per mensem
were sanctioned for the political or tribal levies and Rs. 1,390
per mensem for the border posts at Shdhpur, Gordndri and
Gandoi, which relieved the military detachments and were
placed under the orders of the Superintendent of Levies.

In 1891 the levies were placed on a new footing and the
monthly expenditure was increased to Rs. 3,730, Since
then several minor changes have been made in the con-
stitution of the levies, and at the present time (1905) the
Bugtis hold 1 1 posts, and their strength consists of three

PLACES OF INTEREST.

chiefs and headmen, 3 risdiddrs, 5 jamad^rs, 12 duffadars,
1 19 sowars, 4 footmen and 5 clerks and menials ; the total
cost being Rs. 3,796 per mensem or Rs. 45,552 per annum.

The further details are given in table XXII, Volume B.

The only places of interest are Dera Bllgti and Uch.

Dera Bugti, which is also known as the D6ra Bibrak after
the name of its founder, is the head quarters of the Bugti
tribe and is situated in 29°2' N., and 69*9' E. at an elevation
of 1,478 feet. It is 78 miles from Jacobdbdd, 36 miles
from Sui, 125 miles from Sibi and 64 miles from Rojhan in
the Dera Ghdzi Khdn District.

It is rather picturesquely situated on the banks of the
Sidhaf water course, and commands a good view of the
Sidhdf valley. The village is an irregular collection of mud
houses, surrounded by a mud wall built in the form of a
square with a small round bastion in each corner. The
present chief, Nawab Sir Shahbdz Khdn, K.C.LE., has
greatly improved the place, which has three fine gardens,
and, in addition to the houses of the chief and members of
his family, a darbdr hall, masjid and guest houses. There
is a good supply of water from the Sidhdf stream. The
population (1905) consists of about 1,500 souls, including
nearly 300 Hindus. The exports are chiefi}^ wool, potash
and dwarf-palm leaves, while the imports include grain,
sugar, oil and piece-goods, the annual value of which is
estimated at about Rs. 3,000. The approaches to the north
and south are difficult, and are capable of being easily held
against an enemy. The fort w^as captured in 1839 ^7
force under Major Billamore, and again in 1845 by General
Simpson’s column of Sir Charles Napier’s Army.

The following interesting account of Uch was written by
Mr. R. Hughes-Buller, who visited the locality in 1903

Uch is a small oasis in the hills lying in the low and
irregular range of hills composed of soft sand-stones and
sand which skirt the foot of the Zdn hills on the south of
the Bugti country and between it and the Nasirdbdd tahsil.
Among these hills lies a small valley about 2 miles long by
about 500 or 600 yards broad, through which runs the bed
of a mountain torrent filled from the north-west by the
junction of the Mazardan, Lallo and Chot streams. There are
gaps in the sand-stone hills between the valley and the plain

Bugtis,

Places of
interest.
D^ra Bugti.

Uch.

294 CHAP. V.--MARRPBUGTI COUNTRY.

Bugtis.

throug-h which the water passes. On the northern side of
the valley is a low bank containing an incrustation of effer-
vescent salt. On the top of the bank are a few date and
other trees. From this bank, at different places, water is
continually exuding, but the largest supply is from two
springs about three quarters of a mile apart^ in which the
water is constantly bubbling and bringing up loose sand.
The water bubbles at short intervals and generally, at or
near the same spot each time. It is fairly good for men
and animals who are accustomed to it, but has a taste of
sulphuretted hydrogen. An attempt was once made by
one Dilmurdd to use the water which is fairly plentiful
for cultivation, and he is said to have been fairly successful.
He was shortly afterwards, however, found to be implicated
with the mutineers of 1857, and was imprisoned, and no
further attempt has ever been made to utilize the springs.
The water is said to increase in the cold weather and to
diminish at the time of rain. It was here that Major Bil-
lamore arrived in 1839, and came upon a number of Bugti
horsemen and footmen. Some hundred men were unable
to make their escape with the horsemen, and, taking up a
position on the sand-stone range, held out until 20 men
were killed when they surrendered. The Bugti horsemen
meanwhile had disappeared, but next morning were pursued
without result. On the return of the British in dejection to
Uch the Bugtis suddenly made their appearance from a cleft
of the hills not half a mile away. Billamore’s men at once
advanced to the charge, but as soon as they were in a g*allop
the ground gave way and they were bogged to the saddle-
girth. A single officer, probably General John Jacob
himself, got across. He was absolutely at the mercy
of the enemy, but the leader of the Bugtis waited, as
the solitary officer rode towards him, and turning reins
followed his men who had disappeared among the sand
hills.

Some Lotdni Bugtis live in the neighbourhood, and Jat
camelmen bring their camels to water here. Before the
Sind canals were made, large quantities of sand-grouse and
pigeons were to be met with in the locality, but since water
has become plentiful in the Nasirdbdd tahsll they are not
now numerous.’’

TREATMENT OF WOMEN

295

The Harris and Bugtis are nominally Muhammadans of Social life,
the Sunni sect, but are by no means strict in their Religion,
religious observances, and set but scanty value on the
orthodox times of prayer, on pilgrimages, alms or fasting.

On the other hand they are superstitious and place
implicit belief in omens, charms and spirits. Many of
their religious and social characteristics have already been
described in Chapter I, and resemble those of the other
Baloch tribes in most essentials. Saiads and and

sacred classes play an important part in the tribal areas,
and their amulets, charms and blessings are constantly
invoked. The superstitious reverence paid by the
Harris to their chief and the family of the Bahdwalanzai
Ghazanis has already been alluded to. The Mehkanis are
also considered a sacred sect, while among the Bugtis the
same position is accorded to the Nothdnis, who are the
descendants of Pir Sori, and to the Jaskhdnis, a sub-
section of the Masori clan. These are credited with the
power of being able to cure diseases and turn aside the
bullets of the enemy.

Ordeals by fire and water were frequently, and are still
occasionally, resorted to to determine the guilt or innocence
of a suspected person. An ordinary trial was to compel the
accused to walk over seven red-hot stones which were
placed in a row a yard apart, each being covered with a leaf
of the akk plant. If the suspect was able to perform
this test without hurt or damage, he was declared to be
innocent.

From their mode of life it is not possible for the tribes- Treatment
men to seclude their women. The chiefs alone consider it of women,
necessary to do so, and even in their households the
women are allowed to mix in-doors with the men of their
own family, over whom they often exercise considerable
influence. In the treatment of their women the Baloch
are more chivalrous than is usually the case with
Muhammadan races. Women and children are never
molested, and women may go out safely w^hen their male
relations are in the midst of war. Boys are only con-
sidered a fair prey when they have assumed the shahvdr
or trousers. Unfaithfulness, on the other hand, is very
severely punished. A woman taken in adultery must by

296 CHAP. V.^M ARRIVE UGTI COUNTRY.

Social life.

Hospitality,

Food.

Dress.

Dwellings.

Social

precedence.

Baloch law and custom hang herself; if she does not do
this she is killed by her husband, and her paramour
cannot, if caught, escape death at the hands of the
woman’s relatives.

The tribesmen are lavish in their hospitality, which is
considered one of the most important duties. Even among
the poorest of them, all who arrive during a meal are
welcome to a share, and the chiefs spend a great part of
their income in entertaining guests. All tribesmen who come
to a chiefs village on business or on the occasion of
some ceremonial are the chiefs guests and are fed at his
expense.

The staple food is judr or bdjra flour baked into chapdtis
or a kind of cake called kdk ; the method of cooking the
latter is simple. A stone is made red-hot and a lump of
dough is pasted round it, and it is then placed in the
embers of the fire. A speciality among the hill Baloch is
the sajji or mutton roasted before a wood fire. This is
used on all ceremonial occasions and is given to all
honoured guests.

The dress of the Harris and Bugtis resembles that of
the Baloch tribes generally, and has been described in
Chapter I. Each tribe has, however, some little peculiarity
in the cut of the clothes and in the w^ay of tying the
turban ; and among the initiated the different tribes are
readily distinguishable the one from the other. The
Baloch wears nothing but white, and in this respect the
Harris and Bugtis are even more particular than their
brethren of the plains. It is on account of this prejudice
against colours that they are still averse to accepting
service which involves wearing uniform.

The very great majority of both tribes are nomads and
have no fixed dwellings or habitations. They usually live
in blanket tents [giddn) or shelters [kiri) made of mats
of the dwarf palm.

Social precedence among the Baloch has been described
in Chapter I, These rules and observances are strictly
followed by both Harris and Bugtis, and the members of
the . chiefs families, namely the Bahawalanzais and the
Rahdjas, take precedence before all others.

The Baloch custom of giving and taking the hdl (or

BALOCH METHOD OF WARFARE.

297

news) is also rigidly enforced, and the procedure is adhered
to strictly in accordance with the order of precedence.

The murder of a member of one tribe by the member
of another ^tribe must, in theory, always be avenged by the
murdered man’s relations. Of recent years, however, these
inter-tribal cases are usually settled by the Shdhi Jirgas at
Sibi and Fort Munro, and compensation in money and
kind is awarded to the heirs of the murdered man. The
system of reprisals also holds good amongst the members of
the same tribe, but a murder may be commuted by watmi
i.e., the bestowal of a girl in marriage to one of the
murdered man’s relations, or by banni, the gift of a band
or field, or by the award of compensation fixed by the
tribal Jirga, Among the Harris the usual rate of this com-
pensation is Rs, 1,000, a girl {nek), a sword and a gun.
Among the Bugtis arms are not usually given, though
otherwise the rates are similar. Rs. 600 are awarded for
the loss of an eye, Rs. 300 for a limb and Rs. 60 for the
loss of a tooth. These rates are not, however, always
rigidly enforced, and each case is determined on its merits.
Blood feuds and reprisals are less common than they were,
but an occasional outbreak shows the ferocity which is still
latent in the people.

In fighting the Baloch tactics were comprised in the
simple principle that an attack was never to be made unless
the enemy could be surprised or was inferior in numbers.
Battle once given, the fight was carried on hand-to-hand
with sword and shield and not, as is the case with the
Pathans, by a desultory match-lock fire at long ranges. It
was not often that the Baloch met each other in fight,
tribe to tribe. The ordinary rule was for small parties of
a tribe to go out on a marauding expedition ; these parties
were called chapaos, and their object was to murder and
plunder only those enemies whom they could surprise. The
members of a chapao travelled long distances by night and
lay concealed during the day, and for this reason they
always rode mares, as a mare is easily tied up and is less
likely to betray her master than a horse. Their larger and
distant expeditions were also usually made on horseback
and consisted of from 200 to 300 men. In a raid of this
description the best cattle were driven rapidly off under a

Social LIFE.

Reprisals '
and com-
mutations
for murder,

Baloch
method of
warfare.

CHAP.,V.--MARRLBUGTI COUNTRY.

Social life.

Shrines.

Economic.

Agriculture

Strong* guard ; the weaker and worthless were kept in the
rear with the main body, and if hard pressed, a few were
allowed to drop behind from time to time in order to
delay the pursuit.

As in other parts of the District shrines are ubiquitous,
almost every graveyard having a special patron saint.
These shrines generally consist of little more than a heap
of stones, or a rough mud or stone enclosure, surmounted
by some poles, to which rags, horns and metal bells are
attached, hi the Marri country the important shrines are
those of Bahawalan Khan, Haidar Shah and Buzhdr in
Kahan ; Nihal at Khatgi, 6 miles from Kahan ; Dharu on
the Thadri hill and the shrine of the Tawakali Mast Fakir
in Kohlu. The Marris also have their female saints who
include Mai Khairi, a Bahawalaiizai lady ; Mdi Sado, to
whom a shrine has been erected in the Nesau plain, and Mdi
Natro, a Ghazani saint, whose shrine lies close to Buzhdr.
The shrine of Bahawalan, the progenitor of the present
ruling family, is held in the greatest reverence by the
tribesmen ; and prayers offered at the shrine of Pir
Haidar Shah are said to avert cholera and other epidemic
diseases.

The most important shrines in the Bugti country are
those of Pir Sori and Mazaro, the former being situated on
the Pir Koh mountain and the latter in the Zdn hills, Pir
Sori, who had acquired a great reputation for sanctity during
his life time, was mortally wounded by the Biilddis ; and in
accordance with his dying request his body was tied on to a
camel, which was allowed to wander where it pleased, the
shrine being erected by his followers at the place where the
camel eventually stopped of his own free will.

Writing in 1887 Lieutenant (now Colonel) Longe, R.E.,
who surveyed the Marri and Bugti country, said : ‘‘Taken
as a whole I should say that a more miserably supplied
and inhospitable area does not exist, except, of course,
uninhabited deserts. The culturable ground does not exceed
3 per cent, of the area ; and though the soil in some places
seems rich, the great scarcity of water prevents proper
advantage being taken of it. As an example of this, I w^ould
quote the Nesdu plain, and plain north of Makki nullah
in the Marri country, and the Marav in the Bugti which

AGRICULTURE,

299

is only partially cultivated. About Kahan and D6ra Bugti Economic.

there is a certain amount of cultivation, but except these

places nill^ The Quat Mandai and Bddra valleys^ which

belong to the Harris and now form part of the Sibi tahsil,

have a permanent supply of water, and there is also a small

amount of perennial irrigation in the Kohlu district, and

at Kd’ian itself from wells ; in the Bugti country the springs

at D6ra Bugti and Sangsila taken together irrigate about

150 acres of ground. But beyond these the rest oi the

cultivation in both tracts is dependent on the rainfall in the

hills, and the area actually under cultivation varies greatly

from year to year. This cultivation is chiefly irrigated by

flood water brought down by the numerous small hilj

torrents. The summer rains which occur in the months ot

July and August are the most important, as on them depend

both the rabi B.nd k/iar// harvests which are locally known as

the chetri and sdnwri.

The best known khiishkdba tracts in the Marri country
are : the Kahdn valley, owned principally by the Ghazanis ;

Mawand, owned chiefly by the Bijardnis ; the B^mbor, Dul
and Thadri tracts, which are held jointly by various sections ;
and Pheldwagh, the question of the possession of which
is still under consideration (1905). In the Bugti country, the
best grounds are the D 4 ra valley, owned by the Rahdjas,

Loti, owned by the Khidzai, and Sangsila, which is shared by
the Rah^jas and the Rdmdzai Nothdnis ; and Marav and
Matt, The soil of some of the valleys and shams (plains) is
fertile and chiefly alluvial, being formed by the silt brought
down by the floods ; it is known as happa or latar and
is well suited for all crops. An inferior soil is known as
zahrSn digdr or bitter soil. The gravelly soil which abounds
in the hilly tracts is caXXed ghalaiJbar,, and grows but poor
crops. The majority of the tribesmen till their own land,
and the poorer among them and the Jats also work as
tenants for the well-to-do families. These are tenants-at-
will and are known as rdhak. The Machohar and Pdhi form
the bulk of the tenants in the Bugti country.

The principal harvest is the rabi or spring harvest, and
the most important crop is wheat, which is generally sown
in October and November and reaped about the end of May
or beginning of June. The chief crop of the autumn harvest

300

CHAP. V.—MARRPBUGTI COUNTRY.

AgRICUL'

TURE«

IS judr^ which is sown in July and August and harvested in
October and November. Melons and y2/£fr are also grown
in the summer months.

No fruits or vegetables are grown except in a small way
at Kahdn and Dera Bugti,

The domestic animals are camels, horses, cow^s, bullocks,
donkeys, sheep and goats, and the following table gives
a rough estimate prepared during the census of 1891

Horses. Donkeys. Cattle. Sheep. Goats.

Harris^- ... 1,023 1,315 9,575 13,900 5,860

Bugtis 634 2,180 7,612 16,390 16,460

In the census of 190 t no estimates of domestic animals
were obtained. The following years have, however, been
years of drought and scarcity, and according to local
accounts there has been a general decrease all round, but
more especially in the numbers of the horses and cattle.

The Baloch ponies of the hills are noted for their endur-
ance ; they are light in limb and body, but are well bred and
can carry heavy weights, unshod, over the roughest ground.
In former times the Baloch never rode a horse, and the
colts were killed as soon as foaled. The prejudice is, how-
ever, passing' away, and the horses are kept for sale and are
often ridden by the tribesmen.

Sir William Napier gives the following account of the
horses possessed by the Marris and Bugtis in the earlier
days when they were famous for their raids and forays —
These tribes, like the Bedouin of the Arabian desert,
were born horsemen. They reared a hardy breed of horses,
and especially trained them to dispense with drinking,
except at long intervals. Their horses were said to have
been taught besides to eat raw meat, which temporarily
increased their strength and alleviated thirst ^ ^ *

^ ^ ^ In any case such a training gave an immense

advantage in a country where water was scarce and where
the sole vegetation was stunted tamarisk. The hill tribes
had also their breeds of ponies, but these wiry little animals,
like those of the border Scots, were chiefly used to transport
them from place to place. After a raid on the plains,
whether they had been baulked or gathered loot, they
hasten to rejoin the steeds left under a horse guard. Sure

* These figures do not include the animals in possession of the
Marris in Kohlu,

CATTLE AND GRAZING.

301

footed as goats, and scrambling over rocks and in river
channels, these eluded pursuit, giving Jacob no little trouble
afterwards when he established his frontier watch.
Less attention is paid now-a-days to breeding horses and
the numbers are gradually decreasing.

Camels are kept principally for breeding and sale, and
the tribesmen do not engage to any great extent in transport
trade. The best camel breeders among the Bugtis are the
Piroz^nis, Shambdnis and the Phadldni section of the
Khalpar, and the Lohdrdnis among the Marris. Male
camels fetch from Rs. 80 to Rs. 100, the best known breeds
being the kachhela or the camels of the plain and the
khu-rdsdni or hill camels.

The cattle are small in size, thickset and suited to the hilly
nature of the country. The price of a pair of plough-oxen
varies from Rs. 60 to Rs. 100, and that of a cow is about

Rs. 30.

Sheep and goats are found in great numbers and thrive
on the herbs and bushes, with which the extensive waste
lands of the district are studded The indigenous breed
of sheep are of the thick-tailed variety, and are known
as bdmbori and khetfdni, the former being considered the
most valuable ; they are white in colour with black muzzles
and ears. The goats are generally black and have long
ears. Large quantities of wool are exported in good
seasons, but the hair of goats and camels is chiefly kept for
domestic use. It is a point of honour among the Baloch
tribesmen not to sell milk and butter, which they keep for
themselves and their guests.

Good grazing is obtainable in nearly all parts of the
country, but the best pasture grounds in Bugti country are
found on the skirts of the Z^n range, the principal localities
being known as Teghdf, Landai, Laghar, Pusht, Muzai,
Uch, Darkin, Gazzi, Asreli, Goh, Sdi and T6rchar. In the
Marri country the best pastures are the Kahdn valley,
Nisdu and Makhmdr.

There are two water-mills on the Pir Chhatta stream near
D6ra Bugti, both of which belong to the tumanddr ; thevQ
are also two corn mills at Kahdn worked by bullocks. But

^ Life of General JoJm Jacob by Alexander Innes Shand (London),
page 19,

Agricul-

ture.

Camels,

Cattle.

Sheep and
goats.

Pasture
grounds and
feeding
cattle.

Water-mil Is.

Carpenters
and black-
smiths.

Agricul-

ture*

Hand-mills.

Rent,

Wages and

Prices.

Rent.

Wages,

Shepherds,
goatherds
and cattle
herds.

302 CHAP. V.-MARRI-BUGTI COUNTRY.
in all other parts

strrror’;“c«n .c, ..ow.. .

jaiUhar. khushkdba cultivation, either by

No revenue is ° ^ ,^hen tenants are em-

tribal chiefs or >

ployed, the an of the produce, the

dhure incurred in purchasing seed and in repairing
expenditu then deducted, and the tenant, who has

°^t^he^Miri country, the men, women and children
loved in gathering the harvest receive from one-forUeth
^ lil 5 h of the produce ; in the Bugti country it_ is
TsuaTto employ men only for this work, and they receive

wao-es in grain valued at about 4 annas.

1L nlrrl shepherds receive, in addition to food and
. u lambs and one-sixth to one-

seventeen, one l^,^bs

ll j L is also sometimes engaged on a contract system,

fn accordance with which the flocks of sheep

enumerated every fourth year, and he receives ^ '

the animals in his charge at the time of the division. Camel-

herds aTe usually remunerated at the rate of Re^ 1 per camel
oer annum, and also receive their food and clothes. ^

^ The carpenters and blacksmiths are invariably Lons; t e

man usually combines both trades and is generally p^id
rSed wage in kind, the rate varying in different parts of the
country. He is generally given a fixed amount for each
plough or one Msa (12 seers) for every 60 basas of produce at

-^XheprlLs vary in accordance with the condition of the
seasons, and as the greater part of the cultivation is depend-

WEIGHTS ' AND MEASURES.

303

ent on rain, the rates are liable to very considerable fluc-
tuations. Of later years, since the opening* out of the
country, the prices are, to a modified extent, g'overned
by the rates prevailing in the neighbouring districts
of the Punjab and Sind, but no reliable figures are available
showing the rise and fall in prices during past year.

The seer at Kalian consists of 80 tolas and at D6ra Bugti
of 84 tolas, but generally throughout the country grain is
sold by the measure and not by weight. The lowest unit is
pinki and the measures in common use are : —

I pinki = I seer

4 pinkis = I topa or 3 seers

4 topas — I kasa or 12 seers

80 kasas — i kharwar or 24 maunds.

Bulky articles, such as firewood and straw, are sold by
the camel, donkey or bullock load, or by the bhari or the
load which a man can ceirry on his back.

Cloth is generally measured by the harish^ which is of an
indefinite length, and varies with the stature of the customer ;
it is measured from the projecting bone of the elbow, round
the end of the middle finger when extended straight, and
back to the second or lower knuckle joint.

There are no recognised measurements for land. In
ordinary life the usual terms for measuring distances are
(i) thQ gwdnk pa?id ov far as the voice can reach ; (2)
the topak-tirkash or as far as a bullet can carry ; and {3) the
pahr pand^ nemrosh pmid, and rosh pand^ or distances which
can be travelled in three, six and twelve hours respectively.

Both the Hindu and lunar months are recognised by the
more civilised, but the great majority only know the seasons
which are Zimistdn (winter), November to February ;

(spring), March to May; tirmag (summer,, June,
July, August and part of September ; and (autumn),
which includes part of September and October.

The days of the week are those recognised by Milham-
madans, Friday being considered as the first and holy day.
The divisions of the day and night are as observed by
other Baloch tribes and have been described in Chapter If ;
the principal divisions being those connected with the
Muhammadan hours of prayer, such as nmndsih peshin,digar^
sham BXi&khiif tan.

Rent,
Wages and
Prices.

Weights and
measures.

Linear

measures.

Superficial

measures.

Measures
of time.

Currency*

CIirrenc3^

Arts and
manufac-
tures.

Commerce
and trade.

Octroi and
transit dues.

304 CHAP. V. ^MARRI-B UGTI CO UNTR F.

The coinage in use is that of British India, the local names
for the different coins being as given below : —
paisa or dig = i pice

takka = half-anna

shdhi = 2-anna piece

paoli or pao = 4 ,,

abbdsi or adh == 8 ,,

There are no arts or manufactures of any commercial
value. Embroideries in silk are done by the women as
already described in Chapter 11 . Carpets of a coarser kind
known locally as darri and kharar^ saddle bags, nose bags,
felts and mats of dwarf palm are also made, but these are
usually kept for household use and seldom find their way
into the open market.

In addition to live stock the only articles of export from
the country are wool and dwarf palm leaves. The imports
are principally from Sind and include piece-goods, sugar,
oil, gur and spices and occasionally grain. Both the import
and export trades, with the exception of the live stock and
pish^ are in the hands of the local Hindus, who have shops
at Kahdn and D 4 ra Bugti.

The chiefs levy no octroi or transit dues from their
tribesmen, but all aliens are charged the following dues

(i) In the Marri country : 8 annas per camel on
exports and imports, and 4 annas per camel load
of pish leaves.

{2) In the Bugti country : i kdsa of corn on each
camel load of grain imported or exported ; i kdsa
(about 13 seers) on each camel load of salt ; Rs. 2-4
on each camel load of wool, piece-goods, sugar,
oil, etc.; 5 annas per camel load oi pish^ sand and
building stone ; and Re. i per camel load of tim-
ber. Live stock purchased by alien dealers in, or
passing through, the Bugti country is taxed at the
rate of i anna per sheep or goat, 8 annas per bul-
lock and Re. I per camel. For the safe conduct of
kdfilas through the country an escort duty of 4
annas per camel load of grain and 8 annas per
camel load of wool and piece-goods is charg-ed ;
of this 25 per cent, is appropriated by the chief and
the balance is paid to the tribesmen who form the
escort.

ROADS. 30-

Sind-Pishi'n section of the North- means of. ■

Western Ivailway line between Nari Gor§*e and Spintano-i Communica-
lie in the Marri area, and the country through which the line
passes belongs to the Langhani, Chhalgari and Thingihni
sections of the ^tribe. For administrative purposed the
i lailway line within these limits is known as the Kohlii Rail-

way talisih

The only made roads in the country are (a) from Sibi to
Tratdni, and {b) from Sibi to Spfntangi and Thai via Kandi
and Sembar with a branch from Babar Kach to Khattan
I the extension of which to Kohlu via Mdwand is now undei

I construction ; and (c) from Babar Kach to Thai via Tiino-

I Gamboh and Pazha. There are, however, mountain patL

I or tracks m all directions, the following being the most

I important : —

I A,' — From Kahdn.

(1) To Dera Bugti by Kala Koh, Alarav (about 55 miles),

j This is known as the Bor Bozh route.

(2) To Rojhdn by Kila Koh, Pdtr, Tuso, Sori, Jantro
and Bhandowdla (about loo miles).

(3) To D6ra Ghazi Khdn (about 173 miles) by Kala Koh,

Kdlra Kumb, Chhat Sunt, Kalchas, Sham, Bakhsha
, B^nt, Thoba, Harand, Kangihan and Choti.

(4) To Bdrkhan (about 71 miles) over the Dojamak Pass

I and by Kumb, Kahar and Vitdkri.

i (5) To Kohlu (about 60 miles) by Khjiur^n Awdren, Sidh

Mclrdaf, and Kdla Buha.

(6) To Bddra (about 99 miles) by Triman, Kharod,

Wdzhi, Chdkar Thank, Mir Dad Kumb, Ouat
j Mandai and Bdbar Kach.

I (7) To Sibi (about 90 miles) through the Gandtir Pass

I by Triman, Ddhu, M^hi, Tratdni and Mai.

(8) To Lahri (about 70 miles) by Sartaf, Sori, Sari Sor
and Gori.

(9) To Lahri by Sdrtdf and Rdkhani.

I (10) To Mdwand (about 47 miles) by Mozhag and Dn's.

j R- — From Dera Btigti.

I (^) To Sibi (about 125 miles) through the Siahdf pass

by Sangsila, Sori Daf, Sari Sor, Lahri and Mai.
i (2) To Jacobdbdd (about 78 miles ) by Duz Kushtao-h

Sori, Sohri Kushtagh and Gorandri. , ’

I' ; 20

Means of

COMMUNfCA-

T?ON.

Famine.

306 CI/AP. CO UNmy.

(3) To Kashnior {about 53 miles) by Duz Kushtaghy

Herdn and Son.

(4) To Rojhdn (about 74 miles) by Loti, Rekho and

Bhandowdla.

(5) To D6ra Ghdzi Khdn (about 162 miles) by Slab
Thank, Nalgaz, Kalchds, Bakhsha B 4 nt, Tlioba,
Harand, Kangihan and Clioti.

(6) To Bdrkbdn (about 120 miles) by Sidli Thank,

Saghira, Chat, Gandidab, Vdsala and Ndhar Kot.
There is an alternative route over the Bar Bozh pass
by Marav, Kechi Kaldt and Chat which is somewhat
shorter.

The nearest post and telegraph office to Dera Bugti is
Kashmor in the Jacobdbad District ; but letters can also be
forwarded through the post office at Rojhan. The ordinary
official correspondence with the chiefs and headmen is car-
ried by the tribal levies.

The causes of famine and scarcity have already been
described in Chapter II. The tribal areas are more liable to
scarcity than other parts of the District, as the country
depends almost entirely both for its cultivation and grazing
on a scanty and precarious rainfall. The people can tide
over one or two years of bad rainfall, but a more prolonged
drought reduces them to great distress and poi^erty. A
succession of unfavourable seasons causes great mortality
among the flocks and herds, which form the sole support of
the majority of tribesmen, and it takes the latter several
years before they can recover from the effects. The great-
est safeguard against actual famine consists in the migratory
habits of the people and to proximity of the protected areas
of Nasirdbdd and Sind,

The nearest approach to famine that has been experienced
since the country came under the British protection occurred
in i899"I9oo, which was the third year of drought. The
Marris and Bugtis were reduced to extreme destitution ;
they had no autumn crops, and at the same time there was
an almost total absence of grazing. The majority of the
tribesmen migrated to Sind and the Punjab, and several
hundreds were supported by the g'enerosity of the late
Nawdb Sir Imdm Bakhsh Khdn, the Mazdri chief. A grant
of Rs, 1 8, 000 was sanctioned for the purchase of grain, and

A DMINISTRA TlOhL

307

the construction of roads was taken in hand as relief works,
and in the following* year Rs. 7,000 were distributed among-
the tribesmen for the purchase of seed grain and bullocks.
A similar scarcity was again experienced in 1905-6.

The Political Agent, Sibi, exercises control through the
Extra Assistant Commissioner, Sibi, over the Marri and Bugti
tribes ; but as little interference as possible is exercised in
their internal affairs, which are managed by their owm chiefs
and headmen. But all murders, disputes, in which resort
is had to fighting, other quarrels which are likely to lead to
a serious breach of the peace, and cases in which the inflic-
tion of the punishment of imprisonment is considered neces-
sary by the chief, are reported to the Political Agent, and
are eventually referred to the tribal jirga for decision,
provided that both parties in the case belong to the same
tribe. Cases in w*hicli the parties belong to different tribes
are also reported to the Political Agent, and are referred to
a joint jirga composed of the chiefs and headmen of the
tribes concerned. The awards in all cases are submitted for
confirmation to the Political Agent through the Extra Assist-
ant Commissioner, Sibi. Similarly if one party in the case
is a Marri, Bugti, Dombki or a Kaheri, and the other party a
tribesman of the Loralai District, the case is referred to a
]omt jirga y which usually assembles at Gumbaz or Bdrkhdn
and the awards of these joint jirgas are subject to confirma-
tion both by the Political Agent, Sibi, and the Political
Agent, Loralai, Important cases which cannot be decided
by the tribal or joint jirgas are referred to the ShAhi ji 7 ga at
Sibi and sometimes to the Fort Munro jirga^ which is com-
posed of the leading Baloch chiefs of the Punjab, and the
decisions of which carry great weight in cases affecting
Baloch customs and traditions. Both these jirgas are
attended by the Marri and Bug*ti chiefs and headmen. Cases
between the Sibi and Dera Ghdzi Khdn tribes are referred to
the Fort Munro the awards in such cases being subject
to the approval of both the Political Agent, Sibi, and the
Deputy Commissioner, Dera Ghdzi Khdn.

The constitution of the tribes dates from the days when
facility of combination for semi-military or predatory
purposes was the primary object of their organization.

The tribal officers comprise the iwnmiddr or chief, with

Famine.

Administra-

tion.

Tribal con-
stitution

Adminis-

tration.

308 CHAP. IV.-MARRI-BUGTl COUNTRY.

whom are associated the mokaddams or heads of the clans
as a council of war. Their office, like that of the tumanddr,
is strictly hereditary. In former days, when an expedition
was decided upon, the duty of collecting the clansmen, or so
many as were required, devolved on the mokaddams, who
also chose the commander of the men supplied trom theii
respective clans. To perfect the organisation between the
heads of the clan and the sub-sections, there is a wadera
at the head of each section, whose office, like that oi the
head of the clan, is hereditary, the whole section combining
to place the pagri on his head, just as the whole tnbe
combines in nominating a new chief. With the nmdera is
sometimes associated the nwkaddam of a section, who acts
as the wadera's executive officer, his business being to
communicate the wadera's orders to the motabars or the
headmen of sub-sections. The office of mokaddarn of a
section is not necessarily hereditary, a man ot judgment 01
ability being generally selected. Among the Harris tiieie
was also th& rdhsan, whose rank was hereditary, and whose
duties were to accompany all expeditions and kill any tribes-
men who fled from the line of battle. Besides an extra
share of the plunder, his principal privilege was that he in-
curred no liability to blood feud or payment ot compensa-
tion. The names of the principal tribal headmen are given

in appendix VI. ■ f 1

The organization still holds good, but the duties ot the
chiefs and headmen are now canfined to the management of
the internal affairs of the tribes. The near relations ot the
hmianddrs and the members of the chiefs’ families or sardar ^
are also associated with them in the management ot
their tribe and act as their executive officers. The chiefs
are further assisted in the maintenance of order and disci-
pline by the tribal levies, who are paid by Government.

The motahar or the headman of a sub-section is responsible
for the conduct of his tribesmen and has the authority to
decide all ordinary cases. More important cases and teuds
are referred to the wadera and mokaddams, and if these
officers cannot settle the dispute, it is referred to the chief or
timianddr. Cases in which the parties belong to different
clans, and important cases such as adultery and murder, are
invariably referred to the chief. All proceedings are verbal,

STA TISTICS.

309

and the awards of the chief are given in open ciarbdr after adminis-.
consultation with headmen of the clans and sections, who
are also responsible for the execution of the sentence. The
sentences, except in cases of adultery, generally consist of
fines and payment of compensation. If security cannot be
furnished, the offender is confined until the fine and compen-
sation have been discharged in full.

In the year 1901, as there were frequent complaints from
the Barkhdn, Kohlu and Duki tahsils of the crimes commit-
ted by Marris in that part of the country -and of the great
difiiculty of tracing* offenders who would flee from the
district of one section to that of another as the chase
after them grew hot, Major F. Macdonald, then Deputy
Commissioner, Thal-Chotiali, on the 8th of August 1901, in
consultation with the Extra Assistant Commissioner, Sibi,

Khdn Bdhadur Mir Khair Bakhsh Khan, the Marri Mukad-
dams and Ghaxani drew up a Dastdr-ul-amal for

dealing with cases in which Marris were concerned.

iVccording to this Dastdr-ul-amal, the Ghazani amalddrs^
in charge of the Marri Thanas at Bcirkhdn, Kohlu and Duki,
were chosen to act as representatives of the Marri chief.

When a crime is committed by a Marri, the Ghazani amalddr^
in charge of the Thdna within whose jurisdiction the occur-
rence takes place, is bound to arrest the offender or offenders
within 6 days if the offender is found within his ildqa and
within 10 days if the criminal goes out ot his jurisdiction, •;

no excuses to the effect that the criminals are living in
the jurisdiction of some other amalddr are to be enter-
tained.

Headmen of clans and, GhB.zd,m amalddr s IvAve orders to
help each other in arrest of offenders. Since these rules
were made, very little difficulty has been experienced in
securing offenders.

The number of Marri and Bugti cases decided by the Statistics,
tribal between 1899-1900 and 1904-5 is given in

table XV, Volume B. The annual average number of
cases disposed of between 1899-1900 and 1902-3 was 252,
while in 1904-5 there were only 4 such cases. These
figures do not, however, include the cases disposed of by
the tribal chiefs themselves, cases with other tribes in the
Agency, or cases in which the tribes of the D6ra Ghdzi

310 CHAl^. IV.—MARRI’^BUCTI COUNTRY,

jiRGAS,

Fanatical

outrages.

Finance.

Share of
plunder,

Division of
land in the
Marri
country.

Klvcin District are concerned ; of these no classification is
available. Of the cases which go before jirgas^ cattle
lifting, adultery and murder in connection with adultery
are the most numerous.

No fanatical cases have occurred among the Bugtis ;
but the Harris have gained some notoriety in this respect
since the Sunari case of 1896, an account of \vhich and of
subsequent cases has already been given.

The Harris and Bugtis of the tribal areas have never paid
revenue to the Government. In the time of Nasir Khfin I,
the tribes were compelled to send an annual deputation to
Kaldt and pay a small yearly tribute. This was disconti-
nued on the decline of Ahmadzai power, and until they
came under the sphere of British influence, both tribes were
practically independent. The chiefs also levy no land re-
venue, and their sources of income are mainly derived from
their private lands and flocks, transit dues and Government
allowances. The Harri chief also receives his annual ghal^
which consists of one sheep or goat from every flock of over
forty animals. Both the Harri and Bugti chiefs are entitled
to levy contributions {phori) in cash or kind from tribesmen
and aliens on the occasion of any marriage or death in the
chiefs’ families.

In former days their incomes were considerably augmented
by their share of the plunder obtained during the raids and
expeditions. A share of the booty thus obtained was in the
first instance set aside as the chief’s panjiik^ which amounted
roughly to about one-fifth of the whole. The leaders of the
raid, the rdhzan and the families of the killed and wounded
then received their portions ; and the remainder was
divided among those who took a part in the raid, one share
being given for each man, one share for a horse, and half a
share for a gun. The spies {chart),, who had run additional
risks, w^ere each given two shares.

As new lands were acquired by the Marris from time to
time, their division was effected in the following manner :
The chiefs share or panjttk was first set apart, and the
remainder was divided into three equal shares among ihe
three main clans of the Ghazani, Lohdrdni, and Bijarani, the

DISTRIB UTION OF LAND . . 3 x i

internal distribution of the shares among the sections of the Lan 3>.
clans being as under : —

Ghazani clan 4*

Loh^rani

Thingiani, Badani i share.

Mandani, Chhalgan and Zhing ... i share.
Lingani, Ali^ni and Mazarini .. i share.
Nodhbandgani, Churi, Mehkilni and

Lori Kush ... .. i share.

Bahawaldnzai, Murghiani, Isfani
and Jarwar ... i share.

fShi'rdnis i. Mohamaddni, Jangvvdni. i share.

1 Lohiranis 2. Shambwani i share.

’) Sbiranis 3, San'ngiani, Jand wdni,

i Durkaniand Melohdr. 2 shares.

[ I. Powihdi and Kungrdni 1 share.

I 2. Shdheja and Khaivvani i share.

bijardni ... i Kaland'*;ini, Saldrani, .Somrdni,

I Pirdadani and Rainkdni 3 shares.

These divisions are permanent and hold good as regards
all Marri lands,

A periodical division of land among individuals is carried
out every ten years, the advantage of this system being that
hamsdyahs, who join the tribe from time to time, are thus
given an opportunity of participating in a share of
the land. The land is distributed among all males, the
choice being governed by lot. This is effected by the
representatives of every section, each marking a piece of
dried goat’s dung. The pellets are then shaken in the
hands, and the representatives take their choice according*
to the order in which the pellets escape from the hands of
the holder. The Lohardnis formerly divided their lands
among the married men of the sections, but the system was
discontinued in the time of Sarddr Mehrulla Khdn, and
they now follow the practice of the rest of the tribe, a share
being given to each male, no matter of what age or condi-
tion.

Among

the Bugtis the lands are permanently divided Division of
among the seven clans ; the distribution among individuals the^BugtSf
is also permanent, the first division having been made
among the males originally belonging to the clans. The
Durragh Nothani and Pfrozdni clans, however, follow the
Marri system of decennial distribution.

i^i:2 CmdP. IV.--^MAJ^J^I-’BUGTI COUNTRY.

General^’’ ■ " ' With 'the exception of a small primary school at D6ra
Bugti, which is maintained by the Bugti chief, there are no
schools or dispensaries in the tribal tracts. Epidemics
are infrequent, . and, owing to the nomadic habits of the
people and their scattered manner of living, seldom cause
any great loss of life. Inoculation is practised against
small-pox, and as regards this disease the tribesmen would
seem to have borrowed their ideas from their Hindu neigh -
bours of the Punjab. They look upon it as a visitation of
the goddess Kali, and during the course of an epidemic, per-
form the usual ceremonies which obtain among the Hindus.

BIMiograpliy.

Jarrett’s translation.

Aitchison Treaties^ EngageinenU Smmds^ Vol. IX, 3rd

Edition. ......

Baluchtsidn Agency Administration Reports (annual).

Baluchi stdn Blue Books,

Baluchistan Excise Manual (1902).

Baluchistdn Material Progress Report y 1891-1901.

Baluchistdni Takcivi Advance Manual (1902;.

Bruce, R. L, C. I.K.' 77 /^ Forward Policy and its Results
(London, 1900). '

History 0/ the Marri Baloch Tribe and its relations with the
Bugti Tribe 1S84L

Notes on the Dera GhaBi Khdn District and its Border Tribes
(Lahore, 1S71).

Census of Indiay i9oi,Vols. V, V-AandV-B, Baluchisidny
by R. Hugiies-Buller, C.S.

Dames, M. L. A Historical and Ethnographical Sketch of
the Baloch Race {1904).

Duke, O. T., Dr. A Plistorical and Descriptive Report of
the District of Thal-Chotidli and Harnai (Calcutta, 1883).

Elliot, Sir H* History of India ^ Vol. i (London, 1867).

Garjetteer of the Dera Ghdsi Khan District (1893-97).

Geological Survey of Indian Memoirs y Vol. XX.

Geological Sui'vey of India Records, Vols. XIX, XXI 11 ,
XXV and XXVL

Holdich, Colonel Sir T. H., K.C.I.E. India,

Horses, Horse-breeding and Horse Management in Baluchis-
tan, by R. Hughes-Buller, C.S., with an appendix by
Major H. M. Patterson, Army Remount Department.

Hughes, A. W., F.R.G.S.," F.S.S. The Country of Balu-
chistan (1877).

Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, Vol. LXXII, Part
III, No. 2 of 1903. Notes about the Wanicis (Wandchis), by
R. S. D. Jamiat Rai.

Journal of the Linnean Society, Vol. XXVIII. A sketch of
the vegetation of British Baluchistan with descriptions of
new species by J, H. Lace, Esq., F.L.S., assisted by
W. Botting Hemsley, F.R.S., G.L.S. ■

3^4

CHAP. IV.—MAPPPBUGTI COU^;m¥.^

Life and Tinier of General Sir James {Buster) Browne,
A History of Sind by Masum Mahomed, (Bombay, 1855),
Captain G. G, Malet’s Translation,

Minchin, Captain C. Memorandum on the Baloch Tribes in
the Dera Ghdd Khan District (Lahore, 1869).

Report on Survey a 7 id Settlement of vSibi Municipal Lauds
(1901).

Shand, A. L General John Jacoby Commandant of the
Sind Irregular Horse and Founder of Jacobabad (London,
1901).

Tate, G. P. Kaldt^ a Meynoir on the Country and Family oj
the Ahmadfsai Khdns of Kaldt (Calcutta, 1896),

Thornton, T. H., C.S.L, D.C,L. Life of Colonel Sir
Robert Sandeman,

SIBI GAZETTEER

APPENDIX I.

Botaiay.

Botany, The following account of the botany of the District is

extracted from an account of the vegetation of Baluchistan
written by Mr. J. H. Lace, assisted by Mr. W. Botting
Hemsley. ""

Vegetation “ The vegetation in the neighbourhood of Sibi is similar

of the plains Punjab plains and Sind ; the iinciilti-

at Sibi. *■■■ ■ ........ '..J., .

vated land producing a fairly thick jungle of Prosopis

spicigera, Salvadota oleotdes and Capparis aphylla. In the
low-lying lands, within the influence of floods, the above
are replaced by Tamarix articulata and 1\ gallica, amongst
which Popiihis euphratica has been introducing itself to a
small extent during the last few years, the seed of this
species being brought down by floods from the Thal-Chotidli
District.

“Amongst the most noticeable shrubs are : — Zisyphns
nummiilaria^ which differs from the type chiefly in having a
fleshy scarlet fruit ; Calotropis procera, very abundant in
this arid region, growing to a large size, and is used for
making sword scabbards ; Acacia jacqueniontii^ CalUgonum
polygonoides^ Crotalaria hiithia^ Leptade^iia spariltmi^ and
Tavermera nimi7nularia , very characteristic of the sandy and
shingly soil ; and Physorrhynchus brahiiiciiSy a large round
bush, 4 feet high, locally common, and the largest of the
Cnicifercc^ found in Baluchistdn.

Alhagi cam€lo7'iim is very abundant, and differs from
that species when growing at higher altitudes, in Pishin for
instance, in being much taller and having a greater number
of leaves. Rhazya stricta {Apocynacem)y an erect, stout,
gregarious shrub, 2 feet in height, is quite characteristic of
the dry stony water-courses, and covers large areas in the
Bolcin, extending also up the Harnai route to 4,000 feet.
^rua Java7iicay Pltwkea lanceolatiiy Fagonia arahicay
Trihihis alatuSy Tria7ithe7na penta77dray Mollugo GlhiaSy
* Linne an Society s Journal of Botany y Vol. XXVIIl.

APPENDIX 1 — BOTANY.

Limeuni indlcmn^ Cressa cretica^ Eclipta erecta^ on the
banks of water-courses, Solmtum dulcmnaj^a^ Plantago
ample xic nulls and Spergiilariay in corn fields, and Cassia
obovatiu senna plant, are some of the most abundant
herbaceous plants. Amongst salsolaceous plants, HaP
oxylon rccurvmn (from which a crude carbonate of
soda is manufactured), //. multijlorum^ Siiaeda verniiculaia ,
and Salsola foetida cover large areas of land impregnated with
salts, and form, with Salvador a and Tamarix^ the chief
camel fodders. On the roots of Salvadora oleoides a very
handsome parasite, Cisianche iubulosa^ having golden colour-
ed flowers, is found.

the grasses Panicum antidolale, called by the natives
“ GumP' is the most important, often forming large bushes
with the low’-er stems wmody, and is considered a good
fodder. Eleiisine flagellifera and a species of Eiuigrostis are
perhaps the most abundant grasses in fields and cultivated
ground.

The only tree cultivated by the people near their villages
until recently seems to have been Zirjyphus spina Christi ;
but of late years a considerable number of trees of Acacia
arabica have been raised from seed in the fields round Sibi.

‘‘ On leaving Sibi and proceeding up the Harnai route the Botany of
outer hills are almost, if not quite, destitute of vegetation,
and in the valleys leading off on either side of the Ndri
river there is little beyond a few miserable bushes or trees
of the same species as noted at Sibi. Between Spintangi
(2,000] feet) and Suiierai, Vitex agniis-castus is met wn'th
for the first time and this gregarious shrub, with a tall
species of Aristida and Saccharum ciliare^ are the character-
istic plants of the dry, stony water-courses up to about 4,500
feet beyond Shdhrig. Up to 3,000 feet Acacia jacquemontii
occurs with the above, and Neritini odorum, deadly poison-
ous to camels, is found near water up to 6,000 feet.

In cultivation at Harnai, Dalbergia sissoo, Olea europcea^

Morns alba, and a few Prosopis spicigera trees are found.

On the surrounding stony ground Periploca aphylla is
abundant, affording fodder for camels and fuel for the
people ; Zizyphus nummiilaria, Z. oxyphylla, Gymmsporia
niontana, and Capparis aphylla also occur, and a few misera-
l3lg shrubs of Acacia nwdesia.

« APPENDIX I— BOTANY.

318

“ A little below Haniai, the dwarf-palm, Nannorrhops
ntchieana, commences to form dense thickets, which reach
their maximum extent at Shdhrig;, where thev covei man)
acres of ground.

‘ ‘ This palm extends up to 5,500 feet, and is common on the
rocks in the Wdm and Mehrab rifts, and at the base of the
low hills. The date-palm is laie.

“On the low hills and stony, flat ground in this region,
many species of herbaceous plants and g'rasses aie found,
amongst which may be mentioned -.—Farseiia jacquemontii,
jMulcol'tyiid siTi^osUy Poly^ctlii hohcutickcviuticii in the shade ol
rocks, Viola cinerea, in the nullah beds, Argirolobium ro%cum,
Cifrullm colocynthus, Pumimogeton biternatum, Astericus
pygmteus, Picridiumiingiiamim, Solanum graciltpes, S. xantho-
carpitm, and several species of Plantago. In or near
cultivated land, AWum Ludivigii and Fumaria parviflora are
common ; on the banks of irrigation channels, Lippia
nodiflora ; and hanging down from the perpendicular stony
sides of dry water courses Cocctilus leceba is often seen,
sometimes associated with Ochradenm baccadus and
PiiUcaria giaucescens.

“ Many g'rasses are represented, thoug'h tew occur in abund-
ance, except Andropogon laniger, which often covers
large tracts on the lower hills. Other common species are
Andropogon sehcenanthm, A. annulaius, Heteropogon
hiriiis, Pollinia eriopoda, Tristachyn stocksii, and Elemme
scindica.

The common olive is another small gregarious tree, scat-
tered over larger areas than the Pistachio, and usually at a
lower altitude, its range being between 2,500 and 6,500 feet.
It is abundant in the ravines and sheltered situations on the
south side of the Khalipat range, on the cliffs of the Wdm
and Mehrdb rifts.

“ Betw’een the Wdm rift and Harnai, at feet, a bioad

stony, usually dry water-course is covered with a curious
mixture of tree-gTowth, forming a fairly thick jungle. The
chief element is which attains some size,

and this is mixed with Tecoma undulata, Olea^ wl\ 6. Pistacia :
the principal underwoods being Dodonmi viscosa, Grewia
opposififoliti^ Poriplocu nphyllay Gyinnosporid montanci^ Rluim-
nus pf rstcuSy 21wvpEus oxyphyllci,^ and Scigcrctict brctndrcthicivii

APPEMDIX I~^BOTAN¥.

3^9

On reaching- the Slidhrig plateau (4,000 ft.), 18 miles from
Harnai, there is a change in the climate. Although very
hot in summer, snow falls there occasionally in winter, and
many plants, such as Dalhergia szssoo, Vitex cagmis-castiis^
Zisyphtis^ etc., which thrive well 500ft. lower down, reach
their limit. At Slidhrig Mere??dera pez'sicay with clusters oi
white, pink, or violet flowers, is very abundant in February,
and a little later on the fields are often full of the common
purple Iris sisymicMimi,

After passing through the Chappar rift (5,000 ft.), 2 miles
in length, in which Leontice leontopetakmi^ Cz'ambe cof'di folia.,
Echinops griffithianus., Crepis fcetida^ Salvia pimiila, and
Euphorbia osyridea are common, the railway passes into the
Mdngi valley at 5,200 ft. In the bed of the Mangi stream
A^eriimt odorum and small bushes of Tamarix gallica are the
prevalent plants ; and on the neighbouring hills Jtmipe?'us
macropoda occurs in a more or less stunted form. Camgana
avibigua and Othoiinopsis intermedia are common, and in a
few places Capparis spinosa occurs. During the summer
Carthamus oxyacantha is abundant locally, and Psammogetozi
biternaitim extends over considerable areas ; and this is the
lowest point at which Perowskia abrotazioides is found. In
swampy grass land Typha angzistijblia is plentiful.

“Opposite to, and a short distance from, the Chappar, is
the Pil rift, a narrow gorge rising to 6,500 ft., at the en-
trance to which are a few bushes of Rubus fruiicosus^ a very
uncommon shrub, which is said, however, to occur in some
of the ravines of the Khwdja Amrdn range,

“The Juniper tracts of the District consist of the country
round Zidrat and the Pil range, the vegetation of which is
similar to that of the Zarghihi range, an account of which
will be found in Quetta- Pishin District under the same
heading. The most important and abundant species around
Pis Jtiniperus macropoda., named “ Obusht ” by the
Pathiios and “ Appurz ’’ by the Baluchis.

“ a new species, is a curious decumbent

spiny undershrub with inflated pods. It rarely grows to
any size owing to its being browsed by sheep and goats,
and has only been found at Ziarat and on the Pil hill from
7,500 to 9,000 ft.

Botany of
the Shdlirig

Vegetation
of the' Juni-
per tracts.

320

Botany.

APPENDIX I— BOTANY,

M The most characteristic small plants on the limestone
cliffs about Zidratare Aitchisonia rosea, Bupleurimi falcaUmi,
B. exaltatum, species of Pimpinella and Peucedanum, ■Rubia
mfimdibiilaris, Hemsley and Lace. Scutellaria petiolata,
Hemsley and Lace, having violet flowers and similar to S,
grossa, but having a more woody stem, slenderer flowering
stems and slenderly petiolate few-toothed or entire leaves,
is a native of this region.

Of the six ferns found in British Baluchistan, Asplenitim
Riitamiiraria and Cystopteris fragilis are fairly abundant near
Zidrat, and more rarely Cheilanthes Szovitdi,

'' Onminujn cyminum (cumin seed) grows wild after winter
rains and snow in Zarghdnghar and Zhizh-tang valley, the
country lying between Mangi and Kach, in the Manra hills
and Jandrdn and Bhor hills. It also grows in a few places
in Sdngdn, Narbari and Pir Ismail in the Sibi tahsil. It
likewise grows in the Ziarat hills.

Nepeta ciliaris (hyssop) grows in the hills of Zarghiinghar
and Khalifat in the Shdhrig tahsil in the years of good rain-
fall. Asafoetida and liquorice (Glycyrrhim glabra) grows in
the hills in Shdhrig and in Garmob in Sdngdn.”

321

Alphabetical list of common trees and plants in the Sihi District,

Pashtd

name,

Jatki

name.

Scientific

name.

Descrip-
tion or
English
name,
where
known.

Locality

where

found.

Brief remarks
as to local use.

Alu Bu-
khata.

Alu Bu-
khdra.

Prunus Bo-
kahriensis.

Plum, blue

^Nasirabdd

gardens.

Amb

Mangifera

Indica,Linn

Mango ...

Sibi and
Nasfrd-
bdd gar-
dens.

Amrat ...

Ndshpiti..

Pyrus com-
munis.

Common

pear.

Gardens in
Shdhrig
and Nd-
sfrabdd.

Anang'ah. .

Prunus cera-
sus.

Common

cherry.

Zidrat hills

The wild cherry.

Anar

Dihrun ...

Punica gra-
natum.

Pome

granate.

Gardens...

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